Air Canada prepares for orderly shutdown to mitigate customer impact resulting from labour disruption

Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge prepare to gradually suspend flights over three days, potentially starting as early as September 15

MONTREAL, Sept. 9, 2024 – Air Canada today said that it is finalizing contingency plans to suspend most of its operations. Talks between the company and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), representing more than 5,200 pilots at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, continue, but the parties remain far apart. Unless an agreement is reached, beginning on September 15, 2024, either party may issue a 72-hour strike or lock out notice, which would trigger the carrier’s three-day wind down plan.

“Air Canada believes there is still time to reach an agreement with our pilot group, provided ALPA moderates its wage demands which far exceed average Canadian wage increases. However, Canadians have recently seen the chaos abrupt airline shutdowns cause for travellers, which obliges us to do everything we can to protect our customers from an increasingly likely work stoppage. This includes the extremely difficult decision to begin an orderly shutdown of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge once a 72-hour strike or lock out notice is given, possibly as early as this Sunday,” said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada.

“We understand and apologize for the inconvenience this would cause our customers. However, a managed shutdown is the only responsible course available to us. We are publicizing our plans to give the more than 110,000 people who travel with us each day greater certainty and the opportunity to reduce the risk of being stranded by using our goodwill policy to change or defer imminent travel at no cost. We are also alerting the Government of Canada to the potential disruption’s impact upon Canadians.”

Air Canada Express flights will continue to operate, as third-party carriers Jazz and PAL Airlines provide these services. However, these regional partners only carry about 20 per cent of Air Canada’s daily customers, many of whom ultimately connect on Air Canada flights.