at yvr, stranded air canada passengers search for options as strike drags on
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alberto vildosola stranded at vancouver international airport (yvr) as job action by flight attendants continues following a back to work order.
nick procaylo
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air canada ticket holders, desperate for answers they weren’t getting over the phone or online, were near the check-in area at vancouver international airport monday morning, exasperated, irate and at a loss for what to do next.
as the strike, which has been declared illegal by the federal labour relations board, continues, there was confusion about what options are available for stranded travellers.
on monday morning, air canada said on its website that it had “suspended its plan to gradually resume operations, after cupe illegally directed its flight attendant members not to return to work.”
a few hours later, alberto vildosola was consoling his wife christina who was taking a break, crouched on the bottom of a luggage trolley with her head between her knees. the couple, who are in their mid-70s, are travelling with a small group from buenos aires and other parts of argentina. they started in anchorage, took a cruise and spent a week in vancouver and were supposed to fly to toronto on monday to continue their tour.
alberto and christine vildosa stranded at vancouver international airport.
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“i don’t remember the time. suppose in the middle of the night, i received information that air canada can’t send a flight,” said vildosola.
“the problem is you can’t even book a ticket. there is no possibility of any transportation to toronto now. i asked porter airlines, air canada, flair, four different companies. i can’t find any answer to my questions. i proposed to buy new tickets, buy additional tickets. air canada told me they might be available aug. 25. it’s one more week more,” he said, shaking his head.
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chris bireke and thomas toussaint also heard from air canada early monday morning — with less than 12 hours notice — that their flight back to montreal later in the day was cancelled.
“we arrived here and we tell them, ‘what can we do? we can’t stay here. we don’t have money to stay here. we have to go. to stay here, it’s money.’ we came for just two weeks. we told them all the regulations they are violating and they say they can’t even rebook. they don’t rebook anything,” said bireke.
they are trying to get information about their rights and possible options. toussaint was on his cellphone and trying to talk to air canada staff in-person at the airport as well.
he said he can’t understand why he is receiving emails from air canada telling him they have not been successful in rebooking a flight on other airlines when it looks like there are some available.
another traveller, who declined to give his name, said he was supposed to return to montreal sunday and had been notified of the cancellation on saturday. three hours after the initial notice, he got an email saying air canada had tried rebooking his flight through a slew of different carriers and wasn’t able to find anything.
scenes from vancouver international airport (yvr) as job action by flight attendants continues following a back to work order
nick procaylo
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air canada’s flight attendants went on strike on saturday but were ordered back to work after federal jobs minister patty hajdu invoked section 107 of the labour code to ask the board to send the two sides to binding arbitration and order an end to the job action.
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however, the canadian union of public employees, which represents the flight attendants, has ignored the edict and challenged the order in federal court.
air canada had intended to restart flights on sunday. the airline estimated monday that some 500,000 customers’ flights have been cancelled.
maggie minitor was heading to prince rupert on an air canada express flight, which is not impacted by the strike. she was headed to see a growing group of air canada flight attendants demonstrating outside the arrivals floor at yvr on monday morning.
“i’m going down to support them,” said minitor. “i think they have a lot of public support. it’s important. you want to know that the public supports you. it’s hard being out there.”
she said she understands the point of view of passengers who have had plans upended and thrown into turmoil, but has also been listening to media interviews with labour experts speaking about the unfolding situation.”
“it’s interesting that there’s public support right now even though there’s disruptions. why is that? what is it about this time? it’s flight attendants. they are mostly women. everyone you talk to says ‘i hate what is happening, but i support them.'”
maggie minitor seeks answers at yvr after air canada stopped flying.
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dave lin has been doing a company internship in vancouver and was heading back to toronto. the company he works is struggling with finding solutions for other employees stranded by the strike as well.
“they checked the portal and there are no flights available in the coming days,” said lin. “westjet isn’t available anymore. i think they’ve closed the option for agencies. there are some flights available on their official website, but they’re really expensive.”
he was trying to ask other travellers about their plans and not sure what to do or where to stay in the meantime. should his company take the chance on an expensive flight or put it toward him staying in a vancouver hotel?
“everything feels like it’s back in covid and there are travel lockdowns. it’s really inconvenient for a lot of people.”
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