WestJet Striving to Resume Flights After 3-Day Strike

July 2, 2024 TruthUSA

WestJet is still recovering from a recent three-day strike led by its unionized airline mechanics, which resulted in grounded aircraft across the country and the cancellation of over 1,000 flights.

While operations have been slowly resuming since midnight on July 1, the airline anticipates further cancellations in the upcoming days.

In a release on July 1, WestJet mentioned that the strike, which ran from June 28 to late June 30, affected 130 out of its 180 planes nationwide.

Since the strike’s inception, WestJet has had to cancel 1,051 flights, inconveniencing tens of thousands of passengers. Additionally, 292 flights were grounded on Canada Day with an expected 27 more cancellations on July 2.

The airline is working to restore normal schedules by mobilizing crew members to the 13 airports where the grounded planes are located in an effort to get them back in the air promptly.

WestJet Airlines president and Group Chief Operating Officer Diederik Pen expressed gratitude for the ongoing recovery efforts and acknowledged the impact on passengers in a press release.

“Our teams are working tirelessly to get the 130 grounded aircraft back in the air as quickly as possible,” said WestJet.

The union, Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), representing around 680 workers, expressed relief over the new five-year contract reached on June 30.

All striking aircraft maintenance engineers are requested to resume work immediately to ensure timely service.

With crew bases only at the five largest airports, WestJet is moving pilots and flight attendants to the remaining eight airfields.

Scheduling Snafu

WestJet mentioned that the strike disrupted the operations of approximately 1,600 crew members, affecting the schedules of many employees.

Once scheduling is sorted and crews are dispatched to all planes, standard maintenance checks are required before the grounded aircraft can return to service.

Despite the intervention of federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan on June 28, in favor of binding arbitration, the strike proceeded as planned.

In a social media post, Minister O’Regan urged both sides to work with the CIRB to resolve their differences.

The agreement struck on June 30 includes a significant wage increase, better benefits, and enhanced overtime rates for the union members over the next five years.

AMFA mentioned that the strike was instrumental in reaching this favorable outcome but apologized for inconveniencing travelers over the Canada Day holiday period.

“We are pleased with the swift resolution and look forward to returning to normal operations,” stated the union.

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