WestJet employees have decided to pause their job action, but Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is cautioning passengers with bookings on the airline that their flights could still be impacted. After numerous flight cancellations, WestJet and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) reached a tentative agreement in their contract dispute early Monday.
YVR mentioned that it will take some time for WestJet’s operations to fully return to normal. On Monday, 21 WestJet flights are set to depart from Vancouver, while 49 others remain cancelled. WestJet Encore flights were not affected by the disruptions.
Flight attendants from WestJet went on strike on Sunday, seeking compensation for hours spent assisting passengers or waiting for delayed flights to take off. Some passengers, like Tran Thai from Edmonton, had to navigate through the fallout from the disruptions. Thai shared that his flight was called off, and he needed to fly from Vancouver to Victoria in the evening, followed by a 16-hour layover before catching a flight back home.
The details of the tentative agreement have not been revealed by WestJet, and CUPE members will have to ratify the deal for it to be implemented.