As a possible Air Canada strike looms this weekend, passengers across the country are anxiously watching the situation unfold, fearing that long-planned trips and deeply personal moments could be derailed at the last minute.
For Emine Defne Erenben, the uncertainty is heartbreaking. She and her mother, Lucia, have dreamed for more than a decade of visiting Paris together. That dream now hangs in the balance.
“Ever since she was a kid, she said she would feel like she had made it if she was eating a croissant at the Eiffel Tower,” Erenben told media in a video interview on Thursday. “It sounds silly, but it’s been our shared hope for years. The idea of calling off this trip is devastating.”
Air Canada has already begun cancelling some flights as negotiations continue with the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The union, which represents flight attendants, issued a 72-hour strike notice Wednesday, raising the possibility of a full shutdown by the weekend if no agreement is reached.
CUPE says talks have stalled over issues including unpaid work during boarding and deplaning, compensation for medical emergencies on the ground, and what it describes as “poverty-level” wages. The union’s 10-year collective agreement expired on March 31.
Erenben, a government worker based in Ottawa, is scheduled to fly to Paris on Aug. 22. While her flight has not yet been cancelled, she says the uncertainty is causing immense stress. Her mother is expected to travel from Türkiye, where Erenben’s parents spend their summers.
The trip carries special emotional weight. Erenben said it was meant as a gift to her mother, who is currently caring for Erenben’s 80-year-old father after a recent cancer diagnosis. After graduating last year with a French immersion degree, Erenben worked and saved diligently to help fund the long-awaited journey.
Under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, Air Canada would have to rebook her within 48 hours if her flight is cancelled. But Erenben fears that wouldn’t cover the thousands of dollars she could lose in hotel reservations and pre-booked excursions.
Even worse, she says, alternative flights are scarce and far more expensive.
“I booked early and paid about $1,000 for my roundtrip ticket,” she said. “Now, if I have to rebook with another airline, it could cost nearly double if I can even find a seat.”
Similar concerns are being echoed by other travelers.
Peixin Chen of Newmarket, Ont., said the looming strike has placed her family of six in what she describes as a “desperate position.” Her family along with her elderly parents planned to fly to Seattle on Aug. 17 for an Alaska cruise and then travel to San Francisco to visit her uncle.
For her parents, the trip could be their last opportunity to see her father’s brother in person.
“We’ve been saving for years,” Chen said in a video interview. “My parents are getting older every year, and we don’t know if there will be another chance.”
Chen said Air Canada warned her by email Thursday that there was a “high risk” her flight could be cancelled. As a precaution, she purchased six refundable one-way tickets with another airline at a cost of about $9,500 far more than what she initially paid for Air Canada fares maxing out her credit card in the process.
Air Canada customer service advised her to monitor the situation and wait for any policy changes.
At airports across the country, passengers continue to check in amid the uncertainty, unsure whether their travel plans will proceed as scheduled.
For now, travelers like Erenben and Chen are left waiting hoping for a last-minute deal that could save not just their flights, but moments they’ve spent years dreaming of.
