Air Transat flight dispatchers vote to strike. Will it affect flights?

Air Transat airline dispatchers have voted unanimously in favour of a strike mandate.

One hundred per cent of the airline’s members of the Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association (CALDA) voted to strike after negotiations with Air Transat failed, according to a release published Tuesday.

“Our intentions and goals were to always get a deal at the table,” CALDA national president Rob King wrote in an email to Global News.

“We remain committed to continue negotiations but Air Transat needs to understand our members are committed to a contract that reflects recent gains in our profession.”

In a statement to Global News, Transat said its operations and flight schedule are not threatened but that CALDA’s “current salary demands remain unreasonable.”

“Not only because of the financial context in which Transat finds itself,” according to Alex-Anne Carrier of Transat, “but especially considering that our flight dispatchers are already the best paid in the industry.”

Flight dispatchers prepare and maintain flight plans, authorize flights with the aircraft captain, and brief air crews, according to a Government of Canada website.

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“No Air Transat aircraft can depart without the approval of the Flight Plan by the Flight Dispatcher,” CALDA’s press release states.

It also says the 28 Montreal-based dispatchers have been working without a contract since Oct. 31, 2022, and are “very disappointed at the progress of talks.”

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Carrier wrote that Transat presented an “unprecedented global — and final — offer” on April 25 that was retroactive to October 2022, but claimed union leadership did not present it to the members.

CALDA’s statement said the union delivered its strike vote to Air Transat on April 15.

“We remain committed to the process and are confident that we will come to an agreement quickly, as always,” Carrier said in a statement.

CALDA’s statement said the federal government took part in conciliation talks. A spokesperson for the Labour Minister, Seamus O’Regan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.