Canadian leisure carrier Air Transat will ground almost all of its network on 8 and 9 December after the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) served a 72-hour strike notice on 7 December. If no deal is reached, 700 pilots could legally walk off the job at 03:00 ET on Wednesday, 10 December.
The dispute centres on a first collective agreement since Air Transat pilots unionised in 2021. According to ALPA, pay rates lag far behind those at Air Canada and WestJet. Negotiators say the company’s latest offer—headline wage increases of 59 per cent over five years—still leaves Transat pilots up to 20 per cent below their peers on competing wide-body fleets. Scheduling rules, fatigue management and career-progression language are also sticking points.
![Air Transat halts flights 8–9 Dec as pilots issue 72-hour strike notice]()
Management argues the strike notice is “premature” given that talks have been held daily with federal mediators. Even so, the airline says proactively suspending flights will avoid stranding travellers abroad, reduce aircraft repositioning costs and protect crews from duty-time violations. Customers booked on the affected days are being offered refunds or re-accommodation once operations resume.
A shutdown would create the first major disruption of Canada’s 2025/26 winter-sun season. Transat carries a high proportion of package tourists and visiting-friends-and-relatives traffic to the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, meaning tour operators and hoteliers are bracing for last-minute cancellations. Corporates with mobility programmes are being advised to review insurance cover for “labour-related disruption” and build extra connection time into itineraries next week.
In the longer term, observers note that Transat—already under financial pressure from elevated fuel prices—risks losing market share if industrial unrest drives passengers toward rivals or foreign carriers. The outcome could also set a precedent for bargaining rounds at other Canadian airlines in 2026.
The dispute centres on a first collective agreement since Air Transat pilots unionised in 2021. According to ALPA, pay rates lag far behind those at Air Canada and WestJet. Negotiators say the company’s latest offer—headline wage increases of 59 per cent over five years—still leaves Transat pilots up to 20 per cent below their peers on competing wide-body fleets. Scheduling rules, fatigue management and career-progression language are also sticking points.
Management argues the strike notice is “premature” given that talks have been held daily with federal mediators. Even so, the airline says proactively suspending flights will avoid stranding travellers abroad, reduce aircraft repositioning costs and protect crews from duty-time violations. Customers booked on the affected days are being offered refunds or re-accommodation once operations resume.
A shutdown would create the first major disruption of Canada’s 2025/26 winter-sun season. Transat carries a high proportion of package tourists and visiting-friends-and-relatives traffic to the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, meaning tour operators and hoteliers are bracing for last-minute cancellations. Corporates with mobility programmes are being advised to review insurance cover for “labour-related disruption” and build extra connection time into itineraries next week.
In the longer term, observers note that Transat—already under financial pressure from elevated fuel prices—risks losing market share if industrial unrest drives passengers toward rivals or foreign carriers. The outcome could also set a precedent for bargaining rounds at other Canadian airlines in 2026.
