Canadian leisure carrier Air Transat and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) announced a tentative collective-agreement overnight on 10 December 2025, narrowly averting a strike that threatened to ground the airline’s entire transatlantic programme—including up to four daily services to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle. The settlement came just hours before the union’s 72-hour strike notice was due to expire at 03:00 ET.
According to sources close to the talks, the five-year deal delivers double-digit pay rises, improved rostering rules and better pension contributions for the 750-strong pilot group. ALPA had earlier signalled it could demand salary increases of up to 59 % to bring compensation in line with North American peers. With a walk-out looming, Air Transat had already begun cancelling flights and repatriating passengers; French tour operators reported a surge in calls from anxious holidaymakers booked on winter-sun packages via Paris.
Normal operations are now resuming, although the airline warns of residual delays while aircraft and crews are repositioned. Travel-management companies expect knock-on effects for corporate itineraries this week, advising clients to reconfirm connections from CDG and allow extra slack in meeting schedules.
![Air Transat Reaches Last-Minute Deal With Pilots, Restoring Paris Flights and Avoiding Holiday Chaos]()
For travellers worried about last-minute changes, VisaHQ can remove at least one variable from the equation. Its digital visa-processing service (https://www.visahq.com/france/) helps passengers departing France secure Canadian eTAs or visas for onward journeys in a matter of clicks, ensuring that documentation keeps pace even when flights don’t.
From a mobility perspective, the avoided strike spares companies the cost of re-booking peak-season transatlantic tickets and the headache of rerouting employees via London or Amsterdam. It also underscores the wider labour-relations volatility in the aviation sector: Air France cabin crew and French air-traffic controllers both have wage negotiations scheduled for January, raising the risk of fresh disruptions.
Pilots will vote on the tentative accord in the coming days; ratification would lock in labour peace until at least 2031, benefiting the airline’s extensive France-Canada leisure and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) market.
According to sources close to the talks, the five-year deal delivers double-digit pay rises, improved rostering rules and better pension contributions for the 750-strong pilot group. ALPA had earlier signalled it could demand salary increases of up to 59 % to bring compensation in line with North American peers. With a walk-out looming, Air Transat had already begun cancelling flights and repatriating passengers; French tour operators reported a surge in calls from anxious holidaymakers booked on winter-sun packages via Paris.
Normal operations are now resuming, although the airline warns of residual delays while aircraft and crews are repositioned. Travel-management companies expect knock-on effects for corporate itineraries this week, advising clients to reconfirm connections from CDG and allow extra slack in meeting schedules.
For travellers worried about last-minute changes, VisaHQ can remove at least one variable from the equation. Its digital visa-processing service (https://www.visahq.com/france/) helps passengers departing France secure Canadian eTAs or visas for onward journeys in a matter of clicks, ensuring that documentation keeps pace even when flights don’t.
From a mobility perspective, the avoided strike spares companies the cost of re-booking peak-season transatlantic tickets and the headache of rerouting employees via London or Amsterdam. It also underscores the wider labour-relations volatility in the aviation sector: Air France cabin crew and French air-traffic controllers both have wage negotiations scheduled for January, raising the risk of fresh disruptions.
Pilots will vote on the tentative accord in the coming days; ratification would lock in labour peace until at least 2031, benefiting the airline’s extensive France-Canada leisure and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) market.
