WestJet strike ends, disruptions continue

There is a deal in the WestJet strike that disrupted the travel plans of more than 100,000 travellers over the Canada Day long weekend, but the headaches are not over for everyone.

In a news release on its website, WestJet says there will still be flight disruptions in the week ahead as its planes are brought back into service.

“The damage to Canadians and our airline is massive; a swift resolution was necessary; we take no victory laps on this outcome but will sleep better tonight knowing further harm has been prevented,” airline president Diederik Pen said in the release, which was posted late Sunday.

In its own news release, the Airplane Mechanics Fraternal Association urged its members to return to work immediately, pending a vote on the temporary agreement.

“We believe this outcome would not have been possible without the strike, but we do regret the disruption and inconvenience it has caused the travelling public over the Canada Day holiday period,” the union said in its statement.

“We are pleased the strike lasted only 48 hours and that service can now return to normal.”

Kathleen Carrigan and her elderly father, from Vancouver Island, are among those who saw their flights disrupted by the strike.

She tells CityNews they had long-planned a special trip to see family in Halifax for the first time in decades, and the only indication they received that their flight was cancelled was seeing the outbound leg disappear from their online itinerary.

“WestJet didn’t let us know at all. I still haven’t received an email from WestJet,” she said Sunday evening. “No help. No communication. Nothing. It is really disappointing.”

Carrigan says her 82-year-old father has been disappointed by the airline before and will not fly WestJet again.

“My aunt came here last year for a visit, and he paid for her ticket, and they lost her luggage for four months. And then he booked a ticket using his air miles for his son, who lives in Kelowna, and an hour before they were supposed to leave, they cancelled the ticket because of a shortage of staff, and he never received the points back from that,” she said.

“He was like, ‘third strike, you’re out!'”

In all, 829 WestJet flights were taken off the schedule between Thursday and Monday, one of the busiest travel weekends of the season.

The strike lasted 48 hours after unionized workers walked off the job Friday, despite federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan imposing binding arbitration. 

Both WestJet and the mechanics union had accused each other of refusing to negotiate in good faith.

O’Regan posted about the deal on social media early Monday, saying Canadians’ patience had been “worn too thin,” adding that the bargaining teams of both parties “finally did their jobs.”

—With files from The Canadian Press.