Air Canada was resuming operations Sunday after a strike by thousands of flight attendants that canceled several flights at Southland airports.
The attendants were ordered back to work less than a full day after beginning their walkout by Canadian Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, who referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for arbitration.
“Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge will resume flights following the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) directive,” the airline said on its website. “Restart will begin immediately. We expect it will take several days before operations return to normal. During the ramp-up process, some flights will be cancelled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule is stabilized.
“If your flight was cancelled, you did not travel, and you did not accept a refund or credit for future travel, we will notify you and provide you with a new itinerary. We thank you for your continued patience through this period of labour disruption. Please do not go to the airport unless you have a confirmed booking. You can check your flight’s status on aircanada.com/flight status or on the mobile app.”
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents some 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, began the strike at 10 p.m. PT Friday. The two sides have been negotiating for months over the issue of flight attendant pay.
The tracking website FlightAware.com still listed 14 canceled Air Canada flights at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, and two more at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. No Air Canada cancellations were logged at Hollywood Burbank Airport or Long Beach Airport.