Air Canada Faces Backlash Over Flight Attendant Lockout Threat

Air Canada Faces Backlash Over Lockout Plans for Flight Attendants

Washington, D.C. (August 14, 2025) — In light of Air Canada's decision to initiate a lockout of its Flight Attendants instead of negotiating a new contract, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) International President Sara Nelson expressed strong opposition.

Nelson emphasized solidarity with Canadian Flight Attendants, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, urging Air Canada to retract its lockout threats and engage in fair negotiations. She stated, “U.S. Flight Attendants stand in solidarity with our Canadian flying partners. The whole world is watching and the disrespect Air Canada management is showing workers, passengers, and our communities is not just a bad look today - it will have a lasting impact on the view of the airline around the world for years to come.”

Highlighting wage concerns, Nelson criticized the airline for providing inadequate compensation to its Flight Attendants, describing them as aviation's first responders. She called for an agreement that includes boarding pay and compensation for other unpaid work periods, stressing, “Air Canada pays a poverty wage for the work of aviation’s first responders and that has to change.”

Nelson also addressed passengers affected by potential flight disruptions, attributing responsibility to Air Canada's management. She encouraged passengers to support the Flight Attendants' demands, stating, “If you are an Air Canada passenger with a delayed or canceled flight because management is focused on shutting down the operation rather than seeking solutions, remember where the blame lies: corporate greed.”

Concluding her statement, Nelson underscored the global significance of the issue, urging Air Canada to heed the collective voice of Flight Attendants: “This is about our careers as aviation’s first responders around the world. Air Canada management, hear this loud and clear: take on one of us, take on all of us.”

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The Association of Flight Attendants is the Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for over 79 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. 55,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.