Air Canada’s three-day strike is over, but many passengers are still stuck as flight delays drag on and travellers look for other ways to get home. The Canadian Press
Noha Zaher and her husband Ibraheem Sabry still hadn’t reached Ottawa after almost 60 hours of travel troubles. Their kids travelled with them, but the family faced setback after setback. Twice in Cairo, they were denied boarding when flights were overbooked because of Air Canada cancellations.
They eventually reached Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Tuesday, where they spent hours waiting. Instead of flying, they chose to finish the last stretch by bus.
“We were, of course, frustrated,” Zaher said. “I had work on Monday, so I missed two days of work after three weeks of vacation.”
A baseball team scrambles
The Team Saskatchewan U15 boys baseball team also faced challenges. They needed to reach Summerside, P.E.I., for the Ray Carter Cup tournament. Their Air Canada flight was cancelled Tuesday evening.
Head coach Blair Beck said parents and grandparents came to the rescue. They gave up 19 of their own WestJet tickets so the players and coaches could fly.
The boys will land in Moncton, Halifax, and Charlottetown. Tournament staff will collect them. They’ll miss the opening ceremony but play Thursday’s first game.
“It’s incredible,” Beck said. “I didn’t have much confidence we were going to find a way.”
Ongoing cancellations
Air Canada said it would run over half its scheduled flights Tuesday after a tentative deal ended the three-day strike. Still, the airline warned full service could take up to 10 days.
Many flights remain cancelled as aircraft and crews are scattered. The airline advised passengers not to come to the airport unless their flights were confirmed.
Passengers share struggles
Maxime Vidal and his family were supposed to fly to Paris from Toronto. Their flight was cancelled, and they still had no new booking. “We have a life in France and we have to go back to work,” Vidal said.
Steve Marcotte from Newfoundland also faced stress. He vacationed in Ontario with his wife and granddaughter, but their flight was cancelled. They chose a costly detour through Halifax. “It’s very stressful,” he said. “I want to go home.”
At Vancouver’s airport, the impact was clear. Long lines of stranded travellers waited. Some, like Ontario’s Kathy Keogh, debated driving home after her Alaska cruise ended in a cancelled flight. “Yesterday was like, what are we going to do?” she said. “Other airlines were price gouging. It was disgusting.” She considered renting a car for a cross-country drive before learning her Tuesday flight was back on.
Ottawa’s Cora Li faced a similar choice. Her cancelled flight after a family trip nearly forced her into a 45-hour drive. “The travel was happy, but the ending isn’t,” she laughed.
Others, like Quebec City’s Terry Carriere and Patrick Robillard, waited at the counter after their Whistler vacation ended with a cancelled flight. “I said (to my boss) it’s Air Canada. I can’t do anything,” Carriere said.
The deal
The federal government forced binding arbitration under the Canada Labour Code. Flight attendants were ordered back to work Sunday, but union leaders pushed ahead with the strike. On Monday, officials declared the walkout unlawful. Overnight talks with a federal mediator led to a tentative agreement.
The deal still needs union members’ approval. For now, the airline must rebuild trust while passengers find their way home.
