Travellers in Winnipeg frustrated as WestJet cancels hundreds of flights amid strike
CBC
Travellers stranded at the Winnipeg airport say they're confused and angry after an unexpected labour strike threw the plans of thousands of WestJet passengers into chaos on the Canada Day long weekend.
Hundreds of WestJet flights have been grounded across the country after the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, or AMFA, announced a surprise strike Friday.
The Calgary-based airline said earlier Saturday about 235 flights were cancelled, affecting about 33,000 people. It said another 150 flights were expected to be cancelled Saturday afternoon.
The labour action disrupted travel plans for people at Winnipeg's Richardson International Airport this weekend, as more than 10 flights at the airport had been cancelled as of Saturday afternoon, according to the Winnipeg Airports Authority.
Holly Warners, who landed in Winnipeg shortly before noon, said everything was going smoothly until she was informed about the cancellation after her first layover in a multi-stop journey from Pratt Falls, Ont., to her home in Anchorage, Alaska.
"I assume I'm going to have to spend the night in Winnipeg, but no one's talked about a hotel. No one's given me any options for the next flight," she said.
"There's people crying, there's people walking around. Their vacations are ruined. I'm just trying to get home and it's very, very frustrating."
Silvia Pinto and Jean Paul Aragon said they arrived at the Winnipeg airport from Calgary at 10 p.m. Friday, only to be notified two hours later their flight to Cancun — to celebrate Aragon's birthday — was cancelled.
Pinto said Saturday she'd been on the phone for hours trying to find a solution.
"I think all the lines collapsed," she said. "We've been on the phone for, like, 13 hours already, and no one is answering."
Pinto said WestJet did send her a message saying her cost for the flight would be refunded, but that it could take 30 days. She was forced to book a new flight.
"My five-day vacation just became a two-day vacation, because now I have two days, 48 hours ahead of travel," she said.
"I'm going to cry, sorry. It's been crazy — like, nobody has any answers," she said. "They don't answer the phone and I write.… Nobody knows anything."
The labour action comes after the federal government directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration between WestJet and the union, after discussions on a new labour agreement reached an impasse.
A Brampton lawyer allegedly connected to fugitive Ryan Wedding was granted bail Tuesday morning by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Rankin Inlet hamlet councillors recently passed a motion that has had them avoid drinking alcohol for the 12 days leading up to Christmas, with the goal of setting a positive example for the community.
Jason Jacques says he learned a lot about the importance of choosing his words carefully in his first few months as the interim parliamentary budget officer (PBO).
Durham police say a man is dead after suffering multiple stab wounds in Oshawa Tuesday morning.
An internal review of technical outages that caused significant delays at airports and international land borders this fall has exposed critical flaws with the Canada Border Services Agency's IT services.
Two people are in life-threatening condition after being pulled from a house fire in Scarborough Tuesday morning, according to Toronto Fire Services.
Whenever the door opens at the British Grenadier Bookshop, proprietor Steve Douglas doesn’t know who is going to walk through.
A northeastern Ontario potato farmer says he’s shipping more bags of potatoes to southern Ontario to make up for waning demand.
Halifax’s registry of rental properties is now available to the public online, showing what HRM staff believe are the “bulk” of rentals in the city.
A New Brunswick tenant says he’s being pushed out of his rented bungalow as retribution for complaining about his landlord, but his landlord says she’s the victim of an unfair tenancy tribunal ruling that is preventing her from using the unit to house family.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.
Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.