Toronto Pearson International Airport is asking people with Air Canada flights not to travel to its terminals Monday, as a flight attendant strike enters its third day and the airline keeps its entire fleet grounded.
An update in the afternoon from Toronto Pearson said those without Air Canada flights should be able to travel as normal, although the airport could be harder to navigate than usual.
On Saturday, flight attendants with Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge walked off the job, forcing the national airline to ground all flights and begin cancelling customer bookings.
Despite a back-to-work order from the government, which also sent the union to enter binding arbitration, flight attendants have refused and continued industrial action.
Toronto Pearson had said on its social media in the morning that Air Canada could fly by Monday evening, a claim the union representing flight attendants rebuffed.
“If Air Canada thinks that planes will be flying this afternoon, they’re sorely mistaken,” CUPE national president Mark Hancock said.
By Monday afternoon, Toronto Pearson had updated its status to tell passengers all Air Canada flights were cancelled.
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“If your flight is cancelled, please do not travel to the airport,” part of the update read. “Passengers should contact Air Canada for booking inquiries and flight updates aircanada.com.”
At the airport itself, the effects of the strike are clear to see, with confused and frustrated passengers scattered across the terminals.
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Several had travelled to the airport despite the advice, saying the airline’s customer service system appears to be on the brink of collapse.
Marcello Arenas was supposed to fly home to Vienna, Austria, on Sunday afternoon, but had his flight cancelled by the airline.
“They told me to call a number (but) there was no agent for me to talk to about rebooking a flight,” he said.
Unable to reach anyone from the airline to book a new flight, he spent the night sleeping at the airport and was still looking for answers on Monday morning.
Stephanie Brown, trying to get to Prince Edward Island, was in a similar position. She had been set to fly at around 2 p.m. on Monday, but was informed Sunday her flight had been cancelled.
When she tried calling the customer helpline, she said it refused to connect her or put her in line to speak to an agent because there were too many other people calling.
Sitting on the floor under the cancellation-dominated departures board on Monday morning, she said she is holding out some hope.
“I still feel a little optimistic that we’re going to sort it out,” she told Global News.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to figure it out ourselves. But we’re nervous because we’re going to have to front the cost for everything, which is going to be thousands of dollars.”
Toronto Pearson added that “additional resources” had been deployed across its terminals and in baggage areas to assist stranded or delayed passengers.
The airport also warned anyone heading out to Pearson on Monday that the strike action could delay their entry, regardless of what airline they’re using.
It said in a statement that flight attendants are picketing outside Terminal 1’s departures level, suggesting people arriving at the airport build extra time into their trip to accommodate any potential delays in the airport itself.
Non-Air Canada passengers shouldn’t experience any other disruption, Pearson said.
“Passengers travelling with other airlines from Toronto Pearson are not expected to experience disruptions,” Toronto Pearson wrote on social media.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Previl
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