The union that represents Air Transat's pilots said on Wednesday that its members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. While the results give the pilot union's governing body the authority to declare a strike as soon as Dec. 10, it is not in itself an immediate strike notice, the Air Line Pilots Association said in a news release.

Montreal

Air Transat pilots have overwhelmingly voted in favor of a strike mandate, with 99% support and a 98% participation rate, following ten months of stalled negotiations and a decade without a new contract. The union cites job security, improved working conditions, and modern industry-standard pay as key demands, while emphasizing a preference for continued bargaining over striking.

Air Transat has assured customers that operations are currently unaffected and detailed plans to assist travelers in the event of a strike, including rebooking or refunds. The pilots could legally strike as soon as December 10, potentially causing significant disruptions during the holiday travel season.

Air Transat pilots give union authority to strike

It's looking more and more like turbulent skies ahead for Air Transat. Pilots for the airline have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate and that could cause significant disruptions for travellers this holiday season. And the CBC's Mark Carcassol is following this for us. So Mark, some people faced some travelling challenges in the summer with the Air Canada flight attendants. Now it's the pilots at another busy travel time. What does the Pilots' Union say? When you say voted overwhelmingly, they voted 99% in favour of a strike. So it doesn't get much more overwhelming than that. This in a ballot that was voted on over the last few days. Essentially, the Airline Pilots' Association is saying, look, these pilots have been without a contract for a decade now. They've had two extensions over that time. They've been negotiating for 10 months. Things are essentially in a stalemate. They were in conciliation, the two parties left conciliation in mid-November and are in what is called a 21-day cooling off period now. With this 99% vote in favour of a strike, they could technically be in legal strike position by December 10th, which, as Andrew mentioned, could really spoil holiday plans for a lot of people. Here's the statement from Captain Bradley Small, Air Transat Master Executive Council Chair. He says, quote, this vote sends an undeniable message to Air Transat management. We are unified, resolute and have earned a contract that reflects today's industry standards, not the standards from 2015 when their last contract was in place. The 98% participation rate alone demonstrates the depth of frustration among our members who are tired of flying under a decade-old and outdated collective agreement. The statement goes on to insist that they don't want to strike, but they want to encourage bargaining. The main sticking points here, the main things that the union says it is fighting for, the pilots' main goals, better job security, working conditions, modern industry standard pay and quality of life improvements. And so what's Air Transat telling customers as we head into the holiday season? They're trying to tell everyone essentially that things are OK for now. Interestingly, they put out two different statements today. The first one directly to reporters. I got one in my inbox that says their goal remains to negotiate a collective agreement that satisfies both parties, reflects market realities and those of the company and recognises the contribution of their pilots. But what I find more telling is the statement that they put out as an advisory to travellers on their website. That one reads, quote, the union representing our pilots has obtained a strike mandate, but please note that no strike notice has been issued and our operations continue as planned. Fair enough. But it goes on to say in the event of a strike, notice filed by the union and the subsequent cancellation of certain flights, Air Transat will do everything possible to assist customers in returning to their point of origin. This is where they let travellers know what would happen in that event. They say this would include the offer of a new ticket on a next available flight if such an option exists within 48 hours of the original departure time or the refund of any unused portion of the trip. So it's clear that they're planning for any potential eventuality. It's good that at least customers have some idea if they have flights booked, what recourse they may have. All right, Mark. Thank you. CBC's Mark Harkesel.

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Caracas

Maduro accuses U.S. of pushing for regime change to get Venezuela’s oil

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Canberra

Australia under-16s social media accounts to be taken down

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Brussels

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Washington

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Los Angeles

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Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

U.S. envoys Kushner, Witkoff leave Kremlin without Ukraine deal

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California

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Pokrovsk

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Nuwara Eliya

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Breakdown