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As WestJet flight attendants stand on the picket lines Sunday, one Waterloo family had come to terms with the fact that they won’t be flying home with the Canadian airline.
Victoria Richardson, her husband and their child are supposed to fly out of Calgary International Airport to the Region of Waterloo International Airport via WestJet on Sunday afternoon.
The Waterloo family is supposed to be home before next week.
“We have to be back at work for the next week and that’s going to be delayed,” Richardson told CBC News over the phone. “For my husband, [he] needs to be back at work on Tuesday. So he’s going to end up having to take at least half the day off because we aren’t going to be able to get back to Waterloo in time.”
The Richardsons are just one of the many families and individuals affected by WestJet flight cancellations Sunday morning.
A total of 4,287 WestJet flight attendants walked off the job Sunday after their union and airline were unable to reach a new contract deal. The strike action resulted in the cancellation of more than 600 flights during one of the year’s busiest travel weekends.
Pay is at the centre of the labour dispute. The union argues that its members aren’t fairly compensated and are doing unpaid work for some tasks such as ground duties.
WestJet released the details of their most recent offer early Sunday in the hopes it will “avert a strike.” The proposal included a 13 per cent wage increase effective Oct. 1, plus a 2.5 per cent increase every Jan. 1 until 2029, a new duty pay premium and scheduling changes along with several other items.
Alia Hussain, president of CUPE 8125, the union’s WestJet Component, said that what WestJet has shared is a “small part of a very large contract.”
“We aren’t just bargaining a few things, we are seeking a comprehensive contract that reflects the priorities of our members,” Hussain said.
As of Sunday morning, the union’s bargaining team is “back in the bargaining room trying to get a deal with WestJet.”
Flight originally rescheduled, but ‘unsure if that is even gonna go ahead’
Richardson said they’ve tried reaching out to WestJet as soon as they learned that the strike action was going to happen.
“We got up pretty much in the middle of the night to contact WestJet right after they announced that the strike was going ahead, and we have not been able to get ahold of anybody,” she said. “We were on hold for four hours on the phone. You can’t access them on online chat because that’s full.”
On its website, WestJet said that “all impacted guests will be refunded or reaccommodated.” In their case, Richardson said that WestJet rescheduled their 2 p.m. Sunday flight to Tuesday of the same time.
Feeling unsure if the rescheduled Tuesday flight is “even gonna go ahead,” she decided to pay $2,500 for new tickets with Flair Airlines, another Canadian airline operating in Edmonton, Alberta. The family is flying out of Calgary Tuesday morning.
By Sunday afternoon, Richardson said she and her husband eventually decided to cancel their rescheduled WestJet flight after which they were told that they will be refunded within 30 days.
People check in to their WestJet flights at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on July 31, 2026. As of Aug. 2, WestJet has cancelled around 600 flights. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)’I’m supportive’
Richardson says she’s frustrated about the situation, but that she understands why the flight attendants are on strike.
“I’m supportive of what the flight attendants want. I totally think that they need to restructure the payment for flight attendants so that they get paid to be on the ground,” she explained.
She also said it doesn’t change the fact that the situation is inconvenient if not for her, then at least for people who are left having to scramble their own lodging and food situation.
“We’re lucky that we have a place to stay. I feel bad for the people who don’t,” she said.”
“Still, we’re spending an additional $1,500 to make sure we can get a flight home.”