WestJet flight attendants strike after talks fail, airline cancels 309 flights

WestJet flight attendants went on strike on Sunday after contract talks failed, forcing Canada’s second-largest carrier to ground flights during the busy summer travel season. The airline said it had canceled 309 flights through Sunday night, up from 86 cancellations it disclosed a day earlier, and said affected passengers would be refunded or reaccommodated. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 4,400 flight attendants at the Onex Corp-majority-owned carrier, is seeking pay from the time crew members check in until they clock out, rather than mainly when an aircraft is in motion. The dispute follows a four-day work stoppage by Air Canada flight attendants last August and reflects broader efforts by cabin crew in Canada and the U.S. to challenge long-standing airline pay structures. WestJet said it had offered hourly pay for time before and after flights plus a double-digit first-year wage increase, but the proposal was rejected. The union said it was prepared to return to the bargaining table and said it hoped the Canadian government would not intervene, after Ottawa moved to stop the Air Canada strike last year. The Business Council of Alberta has now called on the federal government to intervene immediately, urging it to invoke Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to end the strike and restore service. The business group said more than 15 hours had passed since the walkout began during one of the busiest travel weekends of the summer and argued Canadians affected by the WestJet disruption deserved the same urgency shown when the federal government acted within hours during the 2025 Air Canada cabin crew strike. The council said transportation disruptions have become increasingly common across ports, railways, airlines and seaways, noting Canada lost 4.3 million person-days to work stoppages in 2025, the highest level on record, with the transportation sector accounting for 36 per cent of all stoppages and more than 60 work stoppages over the past two years.