Labour tensions at Air Transat moved into the public eye on November 17 as hundreds of pilots held coordinated informational pickets outside Montréal-Trudeau International Airport and Toronto Pearson’s Terminal 3. The demonstration comes one day before the federally mandated conciliation period ends and marks a pivotal moment in contract talks between the carrier and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
Pilots are seeking wage parity with peers at Air Canada and WestJet, enhanced scheduling predictability and improvements to retirement provisions. According to ALPA, Air Transat’s pilots have worked under an expired contract since April 2024 and lag industry benchmarks by as much as 15 percent on key pay scales. Management counters that the leisure-focused airline is still recovering from pandemic-related debt and cannot absorb a large cost increase without fare hikes.
![Air Transat Pilots Stage Informational Pickets at Montreal and Toronto Hubs]()
Under Canada’s labour code, a 21-day cooling-off period will begin on November 19. The union could legally strike—or the airline could lock workers out—as early as December 10 if no deal is reached or if federal mediators do not intervene. For business travellers and tour operators, the timeline overlaps with peak holiday travel, raising the spectre of mass flight cancellations and re-routing headaches at two of Canada’s busiest international hubs.
Air Transat carries roughly 5 million passengers a year, with a network heavily weighted toward trans-Atlantic leisure routes but also important winter sun destinations. Corporate travel managers with employees booked on the carrier in December have been advised to prepare contingency plans, including flexible tickets on alternate airlines and travel-insurance riders that cover labour disruptions.
Historically, the federal government has legislated airline labour disputes back to work only when prolonged stoppages threaten economic stability. Whether Ottawa will intervene here may depend on the pace of negotiations in the coming weeks and the potential ripple effects on Canada’s broader aviation sector.
Pilots are seeking wage parity with peers at Air Canada and WestJet, enhanced scheduling predictability and improvements to retirement provisions. According to ALPA, Air Transat’s pilots have worked under an expired contract since April 2024 and lag industry benchmarks by as much as 15 percent on key pay scales. Management counters that the leisure-focused airline is still recovering from pandemic-related debt and cannot absorb a large cost increase without fare hikes.
Under Canada’s labour code, a 21-day cooling-off period will begin on November 19. The union could legally strike—or the airline could lock workers out—as early as December 10 if no deal is reached or if federal mediators do not intervene. For business travellers and tour operators, the timeline overlaps with peak holiday travel, raising the spectre of mass flight cancellations and re-routing headaches at two of Canada’s busiest international hubs.
Air Transat carries roughly 5 million passengers a year, with a network heavily weighted toward trans-Atlantic leisure routes but also important winter sun destinations. Corporate travel managers with employees booked on the carrier in December have been advised to prepare contingency plans, including flexible tickets on alternate airlines and travel-insurance riders that cover labour disruptions.
Historically, the federal government has legislated airline labour disputes back to work only when prolonged stoppages threaten economic stability. Whether Ottawa will intervene here may depend on the pace of negotiations in the coming weeks and the potential ripple effects on Canada’s broader aviation sector.
