WestJet cancels more than 300 flights amid strike threat

WestJet had canceled more than 300 flights by early Sunday, turning the August long weekend into a scramble for Canadian travelers as a strike threat edged closer. The disruption began after CUPE Local 8125, which represents about 4,400 WestJet flight attendants, issued a 72-hour strike notice and the airline answered with its own 72-hour lockout notice.

The labor fight centers on pay and compensation for unpaid work, a dispute that has widened beyond a routine contract fight into a test of how airlines staff and value frontline service jobs. CUPE said the two sides remained far apart on key issues when it filed its notice on July 30, and the earliest a legal strike or lockout could begin was 12:01 a.m. MT on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026.

WestJet began pulling back before the deadline, first canceling 81 flights on Saturday and then expanding the cuts as the weekend progressed. The airline said guests booked to travel from July 30 through Aug. 4, 2026, could make a one-time change or cancellation at no additional cost, a policy that matters because preemptive cancellations can affect whether travelers are rebooked or reimbursed on different terms.

The company said active bargaining sessions were still underway and that Canada’s Minister of Labour had assigned conciliators to help bridge the gap. CUPE also filed a notice of dispute with the minister, signaling that the talks had reached an official impasse even as both sides kept negotiating.

The confrontation fits a broader labor pattern in Canadian aviation, where pay, staffing and the pace of post-pandemic travel recovery have made frontline workers more willing to press for better terms. WestJet’s dispute landed during the August long weekend, one of the busiest summer travel periods in Canada, when airlines face full planes, tight schedules and little room to absorb cancellations without cascading delays.

The timing also echoed the labor unrest that has swept Canadian airlines in recent summers, including the 2025 Air Canada flight attendants strike that put compensation and working conditions at the center of public attention. For travelers, the lesson was immediate and practical: once an airline starts to wind down service before a possible labor stoppage, the flight cancellations themselves can become as disruptive as the strike threat.