TORONTO – Unpaid ground time for flight attendants could be on the way out as Air Canada looks to be joining a growing number of airlines that have agreed to move away from the widespread practice.
In announcing a tentative deal with the airline, the Canadian Union of Public Employees said “unpaid work is over” after making it a central issue in its push for a new contract.
The deal comes more than two years after the union that represents flight attendants launched a campaign against the industry norm, where flight attendants aren’t paid their hourly wage during boarding, pre-flight safety checks and other delays.
York University labour professor Steven Tufts says the practice started before flight attendants had much power and it provided airlines with consistency in costs, even as unions have pushed wages up to help compensate for the unpaid time.
He says widespread delays and extra stresses since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed flight attendants to make a more concerted effort to end the practice.
Air Canada’s agreement to move away from the practice follows on American Airlines flight attendants securing pay for boarding time in a contract last year, while Delta Air Lines started providing some degree of ground pay in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2025.
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