Air Canada Flight Cancellations Start to Pile Up as Strike Deadline Nears

Update 2 p.m. EST:

FlightAware data as of 2 p.m. EST shows that Air Canada has canceled 176 flights on Friday, Aug. 15, representing 30% of its schedule. Its subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, has canceled 25 flights (20% of its schedule). Looking ahead to Saturday, Aug. 16, 94 Air Canada flights have already been canceled, accounting for 15% of the airline’s scheduled departures.

Air Canada says that the “operational wind down” will continue leading up to the strike, which is scheduled to begin on Saturday, Aug. 16, at 1 a.m. EST.

Original Article:

With just about 14 hours until 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants begin to strike, flight cancellations are starting to pile up for Canada’s biggest airline as it winds down operations ahead of what could be a prolonged shutdown.

As of 11:30 a.m. EST, according to FlightAware, Air Canada had already canceled close to 170 flights on Friday alone. Saturday flights are also starting to fall off the schedule, with 80 already canceled. None of Air Canada’s Sunday flights have been canceled as of yet.

All passengers are being notified by Air Canada in advance.

By the end of Friday, Air Canada says the number should be at least 500, which would impact about 100,000 passengers, along with 25,000 passengers who would be stranded. Those numbers will only increase the longer the strike goes on.

Air Canada is offering all passengers booked between Aug. 15 and Aug. 18 the ability to change to another Air Canada flight on a different date between Aug. 21 and Sept. 12. Those who booked a non-refundable fare are allowed to cancel and receive the unused portion of the ticket as a credit for a future Air Canada flight.

The airline is still trying to rebook guests on other airlines. However, that task is difficult as the strike comes during the peak of the summer travel season, and capacity on other carriers is fairly limited.