People flying with WestJet from Edmonton International Airport on Thursday were anxious about the looming strike by the airline’s flight attendants, but hopeful the two parties could come to an agreement by Sunday. WestJet may start grounding flights Friday and is currently offering customers a free one-time change for flights scheduled between July 30 and Aug. 4. “I hope the agreement’s made, obviously. They’ve earned the right to do it for sure,” Brian Jennerich, who was flying with his family to Toronto and scheduled to return on Monday, told CTV News Edmonton. “But it’s definitely been in the back of my mind. We’ve thought about, like, do we just drive back to Edmonton?” He said the family would worry about crossing that bridge when they needed to. After all, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 8125 served strike notice Thursday morning – followed quickly by lockout notice from WestJet – meaning the soonest job action could start is midnight Sunday. And, in the case that job action is taken, an Athabasca University professor of human resources and labour relations says WestJet will be motivated to reduce the economic impacts of being grounded during one of the busiest weekends of the year. “What we saw in previous airline strikes in the last year or two is that the federal government was quite quick to try and step in to end the dispute…. I anticipate we may see something like that again. I think what’s complicating the picture this time, though, is what happened last year with Air Canada,” Jason Foster said. In August 2025, one day into job action, Air Canada flight attendants refused a return-to-work order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, calling it unconstitutional. Three days later, the parties had a tentative deal under which flight attendants would receive “ground pay” – compensation for one hour of work before flight takeoff – and a salary increase. “The big question is going to be: What does this group of workers do?” Foster said. “It’s the same union – different local, but same union – so they’ve learned some internal lessons from last year…. If they choose to not obey and to defy the order, then we’re kind of in uncharted territory.” According to Foster, research shows that government intervention can lead to employers relying on the government and negotiating less. For that reason, he said, removing that element could result in an agreement quicker. “I anticipate that there will actually be a walkout on Sunday. I don’t think it’ll be very long. One way or another, this is not going to stretch on because WestJet can’t afford it. The federal government’s not going to allow it, one way or another.” Susie Goonewardene, another WestJest flyer headed to Los Angeles before a Mexico cruise, said, “If I’m stuck in L.A. for a couple extra days, it’s OK.” “I trust that WestJet will honour their employees and do the right thing.” About 4,400 cabin crew at WestJet are represented in the negotiations. Like Air Canada employees, they are asking for compensation for unpaid work, like duties completed before a flight has started. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Kendra Slugowski
