Air Canada flight attendants defy back-to-work order

Air Canada flight attendants defy back-to-work order. (Photo/AP)

Around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants are refusing to comply with a government order to return to work, with their union leader vowing to go to jail if necessary.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) declared the strike illegal on Monday, ordering attendants to immediately return to work.

Air Canada says the walkout has already forced the cancellation of some 700 flights a day, impacting about 500,000 passengers.

"We will not be returning to the skies this afternoon," said Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the attendants, according to CBC News.

Hancock said the dispute centres on demands for better pay and a new method of payment before flights take off.

"If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it," he said.

"None of us wants to be in defiance of the law. We're looking for a solution here. Our members want a solution here. But that solution has to be found at a bargaining table."

Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday that flight attendants should be equitably paid and urged both sides to reach a quick resolution.

The attendants began their strike on Saturday after talks with the airline collapsed.

The CIRB’s decision to intervene has triggered criticism from CUPE, which argues that government involvement undermines collective bargaining rights.

Ongoing talks

Later on Monday, Air Canada and CUPE entered talks with a mediator, a source familiar with the discussions said to Reuters news agency.

The Canadian jobs minister also urged both parties to continue negotiating until they reach an agreement.

The disruption has left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded or scrambling to rebook.

With the busy travel season underway, pressure is growing on both the airline and the union to resolve the standoff.

Unpaid work

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu separately announced a probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector.

"If employers are exploiting loopholes in the Canada Labour Code, we will close them. Nobody should be expected to work for free," Hajdu wrote on X.

Nobody should be expected to work for free.

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Personne ne devrait être attendu·e à travailler gratuitement.#UnpaidWorkWontFly #FlightAttendants #aircanada pic.twitter.com/4cmp9FfiZO
— Patty Hajdu (@PattyHajdu) August 18, 2025

The attendants began their strike on Saturday after talks with the airline collapsed.

CUPE has criticized the CIRB’s intervention as undermining collective bargaining rights.

With the busy travel season underway, pressure is growing on both the airline and the union to resolve the standoff, which has stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers.