The airline issued a press release on Monday saying it is working to restore operations safely and quickly, but that due to the significant impact
of the strike on its network in recent days, Returning to normal activities will take time
.
We fully recognize the ongoing impact on our guests and sincerely appreciate their patience and understanding.
said the airline’s president, Diederik Pen, in the statement.
When the tentative deal was announced late Sunday night, the airline said it had canceled 829 flights scheduled between Thursday and Monday and reduced its fleet of 180 planes to 32 active aircraft.
WestJet later said an additional 214 flights were cancelled Monday on top of the 78 flights already canceled, and 27 flights were cancelled Tuesday.
Recover the planes
Some 680 members of the Airplane Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), whose daily inspections and repairs are essential to airline operations, walked out on Friday night despite a binding arbitration directive from the federal Minister of Labour.
In its own press release, the union urged its members to return to work immediately pending the vote on the agreement.
The challenges WestJet says it faces include having its planes parked at 13 airports across Canada, eight of which do not have bases for crews who must be transported to the aircraft to retrieve it.
The parked planes will require maintenance and safety checks before returning to service, the company said. It also said it would recover crews stranded on its network will be an immediate priority
.
The WestJet mechanics strike has forced thousands of Canadians to reconsider their travel plans over the Canada Day weekend.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Jeff McIntosh
Canada Day strike a coincidence, union says
Hundreds of flights cancelled due to the strike have made life difficult for many Canadians who had planned to take advantage of the long weekend to travel.
We regret any disruptions and inconveniences. […] caused to the public during the long Canada Day holiday
the union mentions in writing.
The moment [où la grève est survenue] is a coincidence, since the negotiation process did not follow a predictable timetable. We are pleased that the strike lasted only 48 hours and that service can now return to normal.
Tumultuous negotiations
The agreement in principle reached on Sunday is the second to be reached in the context of these negotiations, which aim to establish a first collective agreement for WestJet maintenance engineers.
The first proposal was rejected by members in mid-June. Since then, both sides have accused each other of negotiating in bad faith.
If the agreement in principle is ratified, the collective agreement will last five years.
The union said the tentative five-year deal includes immediate wage increases, the full reinstatement of the WestJet savings plan and enhanced benefits.
The workers’ vote on the tentative agreement is due to take place soon.
