Air Transat, one of Canada’s largest airlines, responded to a pilots’ strike notice by gradually suspending some flights, starting on December 8.
BBC News reports that the union representing the airline’s pilots, Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued a 72-hour strike notice on December 7, threatening that pilots will stop showing up to work on December 10 if a contract agreement is not reached.
The airline said it would gradually shut down its operations “to prevent the consequences of a sudden, unplanned interruption,” calling the strike notice “premature,” while a union leader said there is still time to avoid the strike.
“There is still time to avoid a strike but unless significant progress is made at the bargaining table, we will strike if that’s what it takes to achieve a modern contract,” said Capt. Bradley Small, chair of the Air Transat Master Executive Council (MEC), in a statement issued December 7.
The union said the Air Transat pilots have been negotiating for almost a year to achieve a modern contract with industry-standard pay, benefits, work rules and job security, to replace their current 2015 agreement. On December 2, 99% of the airline’s 750 pilots approved a vote authorizing their leadership to declare a strike if necessary.
“No pilot wants to strike, but Air Transat management has left us no choice,” added Small. “Months of unproductive bargaining ends now. If we cannot reach an agreement, management will be responsible for every canceled flight and stranded passenger.”
“This strike notice is premature given the progress made at the bargaining table and the generous offers made by Air Transat,” Julie Lamontagne, a human resources officer at Air Transat, said in a statement.
According to the BBC, in 2024, Air Transat’s flight dispatchers overwhelmingly voted to approve a strike after contract negotiations with their union stalled, but that strike was ultimately averted.
