Air Canada Strike Grounds Flights at LAX, John Wayne Airport

By City News Service:

LOS ANGELES, CA — A strike by thousands of flight attendants at Air Canada canceled several flights at Southland airports this weekend.

The strike by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents some 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, began at 10 p.m. PT Friday.

The tracking website FlightAware.com listed 24 canceled Air Canada flights at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday, while Orange County's John Wayne Airport was showing two canceled flights. No Air Canada cancellations were logged at Hollywood Burbank Airport or Long Beach Airport.

"To complete the safe wind-down of our complex operations, we began a phased reduction of most of our flight schedule over the past two days,'' Air Canada said in a statement Saturday.

The airline added that those who booked to travel between Aug. 15 and Aug. 19 and wish to make alternate travel arrangements can change their flight for free if they purchased an Air Canada ticket or redeemed points for an Aeroplan flight reward no later than Aug. 14.

Those scheduled to travel during this period can retrieve their booking to change to another Air Canada flight for free on another date between Aug. 21 and Sept. 12.

Those who purchased a non-refundable fare may cancel their itinerary and receive the unused portion of the ticket in their AC Wallet or as a future travel credit. Those who purchased tickets with Air Canada Vacations were asked to reach out to them directly.

"Due to the volume of flight cancellations, we are also providing a full refund upon request for the unused portion of tickets purchased on or before Aug. 15, 2025, for travel with Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge between Aug. 16 and Aug. 17, 2025. This does not include Air Canada Express flights
operated by Jazz and PAL airlines, which will continue to operate as scheduled,'' Air Canada said.

"If you opt to keep your current booking and your flight is cancelled due to a labour disruption, Air Canada will attempt to rebook you on another flight, including those operated by other airlines. However, available capacity is limited due to the summer travel peak, meaning the possibility of
rebooking you within an acceptable timeframe is low,'' the airline added.

The two sides have been negotiating for months over the issue of flight attendant pay. Canadian Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with the airline and union Friday night and urged them to work harder to reach a deal.

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