This is what you should do if your Air Canada flight was canceled due to the strike

Although the Canadian government has imposed mandatory arbitration on Air Canada and the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants to end an ongoing strike, workers say they will continue their stoppage.

The strike began early Saturday, August 16, and Reuters reports that more than 700 flights have been affected, disrupting travel for around 100,000 passengers. The government’s order requires workers to return to their posts by 14:00 EDT on August 17, 2025, but it remains unclear how many union members, if any, will comply.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the flight attendants, issued an update on Sunday stating that the strike and lockout remain in effect despite the government’s intervention.

“At this time, you are still on strike and locked out,” reads the message from the bargaining team, adding that workers are under “no obligation to be in contact with the employer, check Globe or work email, or reach out for reassignment or reserve duties.” Striking workers were encouraged to continue protests at major airports across Canada on Monday.

Travelers should expect disruptions

Following the arbitration announcement, Air Canada said it would begin restarting operations immediately, but warned that “it will take several days before operations return to normal.” Additional flight cancellations may occur as the schedule stabilizes. The airline “strongly recommends against customers going to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking and their flight is showing as operating.”

What to do if your flight is cancelled

If your flight is cancelled, Air Canada will “notify you and offer a full refund, future travel credit, or rebooking on another airline.“ Under Canadian law, passengers stranded due to strikes are not entitled to compensation for food or lodging.

Why are workers continuing to strike?

CUPE leaders have been adamant that the government should not intervene, arguing that it will only give more leverage to the airline, which they accuse of not negotiating in good faith. After the arbitration announcement was made, CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick labeled the action “shameful and a blatant betrayal.”

“The government’s decision to intervene on behalf of an already wildly profitable employer, while a predominantly female workforce fights tooth and nail for a path out of poverty, is not just unjust, it’s a disgraceful misuse of power that reeks of systemic bias and corporate favoritism,” argued Rennick.

Additionally, the union argues that the move to halt the strike by sending parties to arbitration is unconstitutional because one of the members of the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the body that decides whether or not to impose arbitration, worked for Air Canada. “In an almost unthinkable display of conflict-of-interest, a former Air Canada legal counsel, Maryse Tremblay, will rule on whether to end job action by striking Air Canada flight attendants at the Canada Industrial Relations Board,” announced CUPE’s communications team on Saturday, just after the strike had begun.

Tremblay, who chairs the CIRB and previously served as Senior Counsel for Labour and Employment at Air Canada from 1998 to 2004, refused to recuse herself from the case despite a formal request from the union. The union argues that her refusal makes it “increasingly difficult to escape the appearance of collusion between Air Canada and the Liberal government throughout this process.”

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