One of the world’s largest airlines is set to experience a significant disruption in service. Air Canada’s flight attendants are currently on strike, and their decision to step away means that thousands of flights could be canceled.
The strike is set to officially begin on Saturday, but the airline’s COO Mark Nasr says that it needs to begin tabling service on Thursday to adjust for potential delays and cancellations.
Hundreds of flights are expected to be canceled throughout Thursday and Friday, and up to 100,000 passengers could be affected.
Flight attendants in Canada are represented through the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Within that group, 10,000 flight attendants from Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge are planning a strike.
The flight attendants are seeking higher pay and better compensation, as they feel the current pay scale has not kept up with inflation. It’s a goal that one longtime passenger says he’s in support of.
“Having flown the airline on a number of occasions, I have immense respect for the flight attendants of Air Canada,” said Richard Deitsch, a sportswriter for The Athletic and podcast host.
Having flown the airline on a number of occasions, I have immense respect for the flight attendants of Air Canada.
They are consistently excellent at what they do — and the job has gotten increasingly harder in today’s world because of, well, humans.
Respect.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 14, 2025
“They are consistently excellent at what they do — and the job has gotten increasingly harder in today’s world because of, well, humans. Respect.”
In addition to higher pay, the CUPE-represented flight attendants are also seeking to be paid for 100% for all hours worked – including time spent on the ground. Currently, those flight attendants are only paid for the hours they’re in the air.
Air Canada has offered the flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over the next four years, but the striking employees want a more substantial increase.
“With respect to Air Canada’s latest offer: it is below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage,” CUPE said in a statement.
Alternatively, Air Canada has said that it remains available for discussions with CUPE for a resolution, but that it has “requested government-directed arbitration as we now view it as the only certain avenue to bring closure to bargaining and mitigate the impact on travellers, business and the Canadian economy.”
As the strike prepares to go into effect on Saturday, we’ll see if the two sides can reach an emergency resolution to make sure that travelers aren’t impacted any further.
