LOS ANGELES >> Air Canada suspended plans to resume flights Sunday after striking flight attendants refused a government order to return to work.
“All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights are cancelled due to CUPE’s actions. Please do not head to the airport, as flights are not operating,” the airline said on its website Sunday.
Air Canada has announced earlier Sunday that flights would resume after Canadian Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered some 10,000 flight attendants back to work, less than a full day after beginning their walkout, and referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for arbitration.
But the union balked at the order.
“Our members are not going back to work,” Canadian Union of Public Employees national President Mark Hancock told reporters Sunday. “We are saying no.”
The work stoppage has canceled several flights at Southland airports. The tracking website FlightAware.com listed 14 canceled Air Canada flights at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, and two more at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. No Air Canada cancellations were logged at Hollywood Burbank Airport or Long Beach Airport.
The airline is making accommodations for those whose flights have been canceled, with more information available at aircanada.com/home/us/en/aco/flights.
The strike began at 10 p.m. PT Friday. The two sides have been negotiating for months over the issue of flight attendant pay.