Canada’s WestJet Reaches Deal With Union to End Strike by Flight Attendants

TORONTO — WestJet, one of Canada’s largest airlines, reached a tentative contract agreement early Monday with a union representing 4,400 flight attendants, ending a daylong strike that forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, the labor organization representing the flight attendants, said in a statement that the strike was over and that flight attendants would be returning to work.

“This tentative agreement represents meaningful progress,” Alia Hussain, the president of the local union chapter, said, adding that the deal would better recognize and compensate work performed by cabin crews.

Details of the tentative agreement were not immediately available. The deal must still be ratified by a vote of union members.

WestJet said it had canceled 645 flights since Friday during what is a long weekend in most parts of Canada. The airline’s most popular routes are domestic, but flights to other destinations — including the United States, Europe and Asia — were also affected. During peak travel seasons, WestJet carries up to 70,000 passengers per day.

“Our teams are working hard to restore service and get our guests on their way to their destinations as quickly as possible and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we get back to normal,” Alexis von Hoensbroech, WestJet’s CEO, said in a statement.

There were no specifics on when the airline would be up and running at speed.

The flight attendants were lobbying for an increase in wages and to be compensated for the time spent on ground duties that are currently unpaid, including passenger boarding and safety presentations.

On Sunday, flight attendants carrying signs in the company’s teal and navy colors formed picket lines outside Canada’s largest airports in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.

All passengers affected by the strike, which prevented WestJet from flying its Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft, would be refunded or reaccommodated, the airline said.

WestJet Airlines is Canada’s second-largest carrier, after Air Canada, and began operating in 1996 as a low-cost carrier with three aircraft. It was purchased in 2019 by a Toronto-based private equity firm, Onex Corp., and flies nearly 200 planes to more than 100 destinations.

The strike was the second major disruption to Canadian air travel in a year. Last summer, the Canadian government ordered a binding arbitration to shut down a strike by 10,000 flight attendants for Air Canada that began largely over similar compensation issues.