Air Transat has cancelled 12 additional flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, on top of the six previously announced, amid down-to-the-wire talks with its pilots’ union to avert a walkout that could begin at 3 a.m. on Wednesday.
The Montreal-based airline said Tuesday afternoon that it had made improved offers, along with significant concessions, over the past few hours, with less than 14 hours remaining for both parties to reach a deal.
“In the absence of an agreement at this time, we are compelled and regret to proceed with the cancellation of a second wave of flights scheduled for today,” Air Transat said Tuesday.
The announcement came after the airline cancelled six Tuesday flights earlier in the day.
The 18 cancelled flights in total include routes between Toronto and Montréal and popular international destinations such as Punta Cana, Cancún, Lisbon, Paris, London, Málaga, Manchester and Lima, for departures on Dec. 9 and return flights on Dec. 10.
Toronto Pearson Airport posted on X on Tuesday afternoon, urging Air Transat passengers whose flights have been cancelled not to travel to the airport.
“We are working tirelessly and still hope to reach an agreement today in order to minimize disruptions to operations,” said Air Transat spokesperson Andréan Gagné.
The airline has added extra return flights early this week to bring home passengers who could otherwise be stranded at vacation resorts if a walkout begins on Wednesday.
All flights scheduled for Monday operated as planned. Air Transat said passengers travelling before Dec. 12 should check the status of their flights within 48 hours of departure. Passengers can voluntarily cancel flights using an online form and receive credit valid for 12 months. If a flight has been cancelled, passengers will receive an email notification and a refund according to their original method of payment.
For passengers with departures scheduled on or after Dec. 13, the airline said flight cancellations will be handled according to the terms and conditions that came with the ticket.
Bradley Small, chair of the pilot group’s master executive council, told the Star that both parties remained at the bargaining table on Tuesday and that the union is committed to negotiating a “fair and modern contract” for its pilots.
“We owe it to our passengers and pilots to reach a deal,” Small said.
Since January, Air Transat and its pilots’ union have been negotiating a new contract to replace the one signed in 2015, with pilots seeking “industry-standard” pay, job security and benefits.
The ALPA served a 72-hour strike notice on Sunday, but the airline said it has made progress in bargaining since then and is “confident” a strike can be avoided.
Air Transat’s parent company, Transat AT, has been mired in financial turmoil in recent years. It relied on government bailout loans of $700 million in 2021 and $100 million in 2022 to stay afloat, and underwent a major debt restructuring in March. Last week, Transat’s second-largest shareholder, Pierre Karl Péladeau, called for a strategic overhaul to restructure what he described as a “broken” balance sheet.
Kelly DeJong, a high school teacher in Cornwall, Ont., and her husband are scheduled to depart on a long-anticipated trip to Punta Cana on Sunday, but she now finds herself in limbo.
DeJong has a 20-year-old son with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and it took nearly six months to work out the logistics of his care — coordinating daytime nursing care and overnight help from their daughter — while they are away.
“It’s very stressful,” she said. “We’ve hired somebody to be available for us during the week that we’ve booked off, and that’s impacted her life as well.”
DeJong said she has not taken a major trip in five years and may not be able to plan another vacation within the next year, given the amount of work that goes into it.
“The (potential) strike has completely disrupted our plans, because the likelihood that we can organize something like this again anytime soon is pretty slim,” DeJong.
“I’m hoping that they decide not to strike and that we can enjoy our time away before the Christmas madness.”
