Air Canada Flight Attendants Defy Return Order, Strike Rolls Into Monday

• Union representing ~10,000 flight attendants is defying a CIRB return-to-work order issued for Sunday 2 p.m. ET.
• Air Canada delayed its restart to Monday evening and warns cancellations could persist 7–10 days.
• Disruption touches ~700 flights/day and 100k–130k passengers/day at peak season.
• Core dispute: pay for unpaid ground/boarding time; airline cites a 38% compensation offer over four years.
• Ottawa imposed binding arbitration; CUPE calls the order unconstitutional and plans a legal challenge.

Air Canada’s strike is intensifying after the flight attendants’ union said members won’t comply with a government-backed return-to-work directive. The standoff has already grounded most mainline and Rouge flights and snarled peak-season travel nationwide, with spillover effects for international routes and cargo.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board’s order—issued after Ottawa moved to impose binding arbitration—set a Sunday 2 p.m. ET deadline to resume duties. CUPE rejected the directive and invited the airline back to the table. In response, Air Canada pushed its restart to Monday evening and signaled that cancellations could continue for several days as schedules are rebuilt.

At the heart of the dispute is compensation: attendants say they aren’t paid for key ground and boarding tasks; the carrier points to a proposed 38% four-year package and partial ground-time pay. With legal challenges looming and travelers still rebooking, attention now shifts to how quickly the parties move under arbitration—and whether pressure from passengers and business groups accelerates a negotiated fix.