Air passengers were still scrambling to rebook their flights home on Sunday, as a labour dispute between Air Canada and the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants continued to ground planes around the world.
James Hart and Zahara Virani were visiting Toronto from Calgary for what they thought would be a fun weekend.
But they ended up paying $2,600 to fly with another airline on a later day after their Air Canada flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport got cancelled due to the strike and lockout that began Saturday.
Hart said the couple heard late Saturday that their Sunday flight home had been cancelled, forcing them to also miss work.
“We kind of had an idea it wouldn’t be going out, and now you can’t get a hold of anybody to get any answers,” he said.
The couple found seats on a competitor flight for Monday, but said it’s costing them three to four times more than what they initially paid for their original tickets.
“It’s a little frustrating and stressful, but at the same time, I don’t blame the flight attendants at all,” Virani said. “What they’re asking for is not unreasonable whatsoever.”
The union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants said on Sunday that the workers plan to remain on strike, even after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered both parties back to work by 2 p.m. ET the same day.
As a result, Air Canada announced it was suspending a plan to restart operations and cancelled some 240 flights that had been scheduled to take off Sunday.
Grounded planes also impacted tourists from all over the world.
Travellers such as Mel Durston, from southern England, was trying to make the most of sightseeing in Canada. But she said she doesn’t have a way to continue her journey.
“We wanted to go see the Rockies, but we might not get there because of this,” Durston said. “We might have to head straight back (to the U.K.).”
Robert Cwynar and his wife were originally supposed to leave Saturday night to get to Saskatoon on their way home to Poland, when they also found out their flight was cancelled with no alternate routes home.
“There’s no help. We have to get our hotels on our own, our transportation, our meals… They don’t say anything,” he said.
Air Canada has said passengers whose flights are cancelled will be offered a full refund or the opportunity to change their travel plans without a fee.
However, it said that under Canada’s airline passenger protection regulations, customers are not eligible for compensation for expenses incurred during travel delays deemed outside the airline’s control.
“Customers in Canada are not eligible for compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, meals, hotels or other incidental expenses for situations outside the carrier’s control, such as a labour disruption,” the airline said
Air Canada said in a news release that its flights would resume Monday evening, although a notice on its booking page said all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights were cancelled until further notice.
