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Over the last few months, several airlines north of the border have seen ongoing labor disputes reach the kind of impasse that resulted in disrupted travel.

Over the course of four days between Aug. 16 and 19, 2025, Canadian flag carrier Air Canada canceled over 700 flights as its roughly 10,000 flight attendants chose job action instead of the 38% pay raise over four years initially presented by the airline.

The union and the airline eventually reached an agreement that better compensates flight attendants for their time before and after flights.

Four months later, Montreal-based Air Transat is now the airline that is preparing to wind down operations as CBC reported the union representing its 750 pilots issued a 72-hour strike notice on Dec. 7.

The pilot’s union had been pushing to overhaul a work contract established for “industry-standard pay, benefits, work rules, and job security;” 99% of its members voted to authorize a strike after what they say is a lack of response from Air Transat.

Air Transat “will be responsible for every cancelled flight and stranded passenger”: pilot

“No pilot wants to strike, but Air Transat management has left us no choice,” Capt. Bradley Small, an Air Transat pilot representing a group within the union, said in a statement, as reported by BBC.

“Months of unproductive bargaining ends now. If we cannot reach an agreement, management will be responsible for every cancelled flight and stranded passenger.”

Operating since 1987, Air Transat is a large vacation airline commonly booked by Canadians on the East Coast for flights to sunny destinations in Florida and the Caribbean, as well as other destinations in Europe and South America.

In its own statement released late on Sunday, Dec. 7, Air Transat called the strike notice “premature given the progress made at the bargaining table” and said it will respond with an “action plan” in which it will start phasing out flights on Dec. 8 and suspend all operations by the end of Dec. 9.

In a further statement on the strike and flight cancellations, Air Transat Chief Human Resources and Communications Officer Julie Lamontagne redirected blame toward the union by saying it “has shown no openness.”

Air Transat is a vacation airline based in Montreal.

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Air Transat accuses pilot’s union of “indifference,” prepares to suspend flights

“It is regrettable that the union has expressed such indifference toward Transat, its employees and clients by choosing the path of a strike at this time of year — a reckless decision that does not reflect the state of negotiations,” Lamontagne said further.

While an agreement could still be reached to avoid a full suspension of operations, a shutdown is looking increasingly likely as the 72-hour period passes.

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The agreement proposed by Air Transat gives pilots a 59% salary increase over the course of five years, which the union says does not reflect the cost of living and does not address issues around scheduling and work conditions.

According to data from FlightAware, Air Transat operates between 70 to 75 flights daily from major hubs like Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau (YUL) airports to cities including Punta Cana, Cancún, Havana, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale.

As many of these destinations are in tropical countries, CityNews Vancouver reported that travelers have expressed concern over potentially being left stranded in the coming days.