Air Canada suspends operations due to strike: What travelers need to know

When 10,000 flight attendants go on strike, nothing works anymore. This is the situation Air Canada has found itself in since Saturday morning, August 16, after a negotiation deadline passed without success. As the company announced on its website, operations had to be suspended. This affects hundreds of thousands of travelers worldwide; in Germany, it primarily affects people who want to fly from Frankfurt and Munich to Canada.

The CUPE union, which represents 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, called the strike. The strike was triggered by failed wage negotiations, according to the union's website.

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The union is demanding better pay, including for the time staff are on the ground. Air Canada's offer included, among other things, a total wage increase of 38 percent over four years, including an increase of up to 16 percent in the first year, as well as pension improvements, but that wasn't enough for the union, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and others.

The strike is initially scheduled for 72 hours, but Air Canada has already announced that it could take up to a week for flight traffic to return to normal. It is unclear whether new negotiations will take place soon.

The company offers free rebooking for anyone who booked their flight with Air Canada for August 15 or between August 21 and September 12, 2025. Those who booked a non-refundable fare can cancel their trip and receive the unused portion of the ticket as travel credit for their next Air Canada booking.

Air Canada will rebook passengers who do not wish to rebook or cancel their flight and whose flight cannot take place due to the strike, if possible, including on flights operated by other airlines. "However, due to the summer travel season, available capacity on Air Canada and other airlines is limited, so the possibility of rebooking within an acceptable timeframe is limited," the airline notes.

Thousands of Air Canada flight attendants have gone on strike.

Source: IMAGO/Xinhua

Air travelers in the EU are only protected by the European Air Passenger Rights Regulation if the airline is based in the EU. For delays of three hours or more or flight cancellations, they are entitled to alternative transportation or, after five hours, to a free cancellation.

Those affected are entitled to food during long waiting times, and if they have to stay overnight, to accommodation and transportation. Compensation is generally not available for ground staff strikes, but the airline is required to provide support to those affected.

We have written down further information about the rights and options available to travelers in the event of an airport strike in this article .

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