Thousands of passengers are facing another day of travel disruptions as Air Canada flight attendants continue to strike despite a federal return-to-work order.
Lisa Smith and Nicole Power, two sisters from Newfoundland, say they were visiting San Francisco and were initially told two days ago that their Air Canada return flight wouldn’t be impacted.
Smith says they were then told yesterday the flight was cancelled, and Air Canada rebooked them on a competitor flight but they’ll be stuck in Montreal until Wednesday before they can get back to the East Coast.
Meanwhile, Luca Pozzoli says he’s trying to get to Italy but his flight was cancelled shortly after he arrived at the Montreal airport, and now he’s considering driving to Boston and flying from there instead.
This morning, the Canada Industrial Relations Board declared the strike by the company’s 10,000 flight attendants unlawful and has ordered the union’s leadership to direct its members to return to work.
However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the flight attendants, has ignored the edict and challenged the CIRB order in Federal Court.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.
