The clock is ticking for Air Canada and its pilots to reach an agreement in their labour dispute ahead of a looming shutdown that could upend air travel for thousands of passengers.
Some disruptions have already begun as a midnight deadline is fast approaching for the national carrier and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 5,200 Air Canada pilots.
Both sides remain far apart on negotiations and if a settlement is not reached by 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday, either Air Canada or the ALPA could issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice.
Air Canada told Global News on Saturday that it remains “engaged with the union to reach a new collective agreement.”
However, in preparation for a shutdown, the airline has started to curtail its services.
“We have begun taking some measures, including limiting certain types of cargo shipments, such as perishables, and adjusting some aircraft flying schedules to have them positioned properly in event of a wind down,” Air Canada said in an emailed statement.
“Although our preparations for a possible suspension of operations continue, we have not yet cancelled any flights.”
The airline said that once the winddown begins, it cannot avoid disruptions “for several days even if a settlement occurs quickly.”
The union told Global News that meetings with Air Canada were continuing on Saturday as they try to “avoid legal job action and the effects of that on our passengers.”
Air Canada has urged the federal government to be ready to intervene if the talks with the pilots’ union fail.
“With talks nearing an impasse and time for negotiation running out, the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of Canadians are hanging in the balance,” Michael Rousseau, president and chief executive of Air Canada, said in a statement on Thursday.
“We are taking all measures to mitigate any impact, but the reality is even a short work stoppage at Air Canada could, given the complexity of our business operating on a global scale, cause prolonged disruption for customers.”
Meanwhile, the union does not want the government to intervene in the collective bargaining process, saying that doing so “violates the constitutional rights and freedoms of Canadians.”
“On behalf of all ALPA Canada members, I insist the federal government allow collective bargaining to run its course, free from intervention, and allow any Parties to a labor dispute to remain at the bargaining table to put in the hard work required to come to a freely negotiated agreement,” Tim Perry, ALPA Canada president, said in a statement on Friday.
'Very immediate impact'
The impending work stoppage could impact 110,000 or more travellers per day and also delay cargo shipments, the airline says.
Duncan Dee, former Air Canada chief operating officer, told Global News on Saturday that the impacts of a shutdown will be felt throughout the country and in fact, “disruptions have already begun,” he said, referring to the perishable cargo shipments.
He said perishable cargo on Air Canada planes typically includes seafood from Atlantic Canada going to Europe or the United States.
“When you take a look at the impact here, it’s not even just travellers, it’s Canadian businesses.”
Air Canada had said on Monday that some operations would need to start winding down as early as Friday, including the cancellation of some holiday packages and the grounding of some aircraft.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has urged all parties to ensure that flight services remain in place as a new collective agreement is negotiated.
In an interview on the Roy Green Show Saturday, CFIB President Dan Kelly said even the threat of a strike or lockout is affecting small businesses.
“Meetings are getting cancelled, events are getting postponed, and that’s all happening without even a single day of job action,” he said.
“This has a very immediate impact on a whole host of people for the tourism, hospitality sector obviously … but even those that depend on air freight for critical and often very sensitive deliveries.”
Kelly said it’s estimated that one day of dislocation at Air Canada could cause at least a week or even two before the system is back to normal.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the onus is on Air Canada and the pilots’ union to reach a deal — and not on the federal government.
“Every time there’s a strike, people say, ‘Oh, you’ll get the government to come in and fix it.’ We’re not going to do that,” Trudeau said.
“I’m not going to put my thumb on the scale on either side. It is up to Air Canada and the pilots union to do the work to figure out how to make sure that they are not hurting millions of Canadians who rely on air travel, thousands and thousands of businesses across this country who will be hurt if they can’t get the work done at the bargaining table,” he said.
Dee said he is optimistic that a resolution could be reached.
“The fact that both parties still remain at the table speaking to each other, negotiating through those issues gives me some measure of optimism that there’s potential for this strike to be averted,” he said.
Air Canada has said it will have to start gradually shutting down operations once a 72-hour notice is given as it will take time to properly position its 252 aircraft and its crews that fly to 47 countries.
It says if operations are shut down, it will take up to 10 days to resume normal operations.
The airline is offering travellers scheduled to fly between Sunday and Sept. 23 the opportunity to change their flight for free.
— with files from Global News’ Uday Rana and The Canadian Press.