WestJet’s mechanics launched an unexpected walkout late Friday, threatening to ground aircraft and impede travel at the beginning of a long weekend marked by national holidays. WestJet is the second-largest airline in Canada.
Diederik Pen, the president of the airline, stated in a statement that thousands of passengers may experience “severe disruptions” as a result of the walkout.
It occurs the day after labor unrest at the airline was reportedly prevented by a ministerial directive for binding arbitration to resolve a contract disagreement.
At 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (2330 GMT), the airline mechanics’ union declared that “the airline’s unwillingness to negotiate with the union made the strike inevitable,” which sparked the commencement of the walkout against the corporation.
A strike notice was issued earlier this month after the mechanics rejected a tentative deal with the Calgary-based airline.
“We are extremely outraged at these actions,” Pen said, adding the strike would cause “unnecessary stress and costs” while having no impact on the arbitration outcome.
He claimed that the corporation has requested intervention from Canada’s labor relations board and federal labor minister, Seamus O’Regan, in order to put a stop to the walkout.
WestJet serves more than 100 destinations in almost 30 countries with 198 commercial aircraft.
