A strike by plane mechanics forced Canada's second largest airline, WestJet, to cancel hundreds more flights Sunday, upending plans of roughly 110,000 travelers over the Canada Day long weekend and prompting the carrier to demand action from the federal government. Some 680 workers, whose daily inspections and repairs are essential to airline operations, walked off the job Friday evening despite a directive for binding arbitration from the labor minister.
“WestJet is in receipt of a binding arbitration order and awaits urgent clarity from the government that a strike and arbitration cannot exist simultaneously; this is something they have committed to address and like all Canadians we are waiting,” WestJet Airlines President Diederik Pen said in a statement Sunday. Since Thursday, WestJet has cancelled 829 flights scheduled to fly between then and Monday — the busiest travel weekend of the season.
Thousands of air travelers across the country had their Canada Day long weekend plans disrupted Saturday after WestJet Airlines cancelled more than 350 flights in the wake of unexpected strike action by its unionized mechanics. WestJet said more than 30,000 passengers were affected by the flight disruptions Saturday, and an additional 250,000 travelers might be impacted if the strike continues through the long weekend.