WestJet and CUPE reach tentative agreement, ending job action, flight disruptions

CALGARY – WestJet and the union representing about 4,400 flight attendants reached a tentative contract agreement early Monday morning, ending a job action that halted flights across the country and left many travellers in limbo.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a news release that the tentative agreement will be presented to its members for a ratification vote. In the meantime, both the union’s strike notice and the company’s lockout notice were being withdrawn and flight attendants would return to work.

“This tentative agreement represents meaningful progress,” said Alia Hussain, president of CUPE local 8125, in the release, adding that the draft deal recognizes “more of the work cabin crew are required to perform and with general increases to compensation for that work.”

“Most importantly, this agreement was achieved through collective bargaining at the negotiating table,” Hussain said.

Flight attendants walked off the job early Sunday morning, after failing to reach a new contract with the airline. WestJet then grounded all flights on a long summer weekend across much of Canada.

Contract talks had been ongoing in Calgary since January, with WestJet and the CUPE WestJet Component at odds over wage increases and the cabin crew’s claim of unpaid ground work.

There was no word Monday on when the airline would be able to resume its normal operations and schedule, but WestJet said in a separate news release that it would share details as they became available.

“We know this disruption has been frustrating for our guests and WestJetters and we’re sorry for that,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech, the company’s chief executive officer, in the release. “Our teams are working hard to restore service and get our guests on their way to their destinations as quickly as possible and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we get back to normal.”

Neither WestJet nor CUPE provided any details about the tentative deal, though Hoensbroech said it recognized the hard work and professionalism of the company’s cabin crews.

All WestJet flights out of the Toronto Pearson International Airport remained cancelled as of Monday morning, said a post to the airport’s account on the X social media platform. The post advised travellers to contact the airline directly.

Patty Hadju, the federal minister of jobs and families, said she met with WestJet and CUPE throughout their negotiations.

“The federal government and Canadians welcome the news that the parties have reached a deal together, at the bargaining table,” she said Monday morning in a post to X.

WestJet had been allowing passengers travelling between July 30 and Aug. 4 to make a one-time change or cancellation with no fees in anticipation of the strike. Ticket holders whose flight was cancelled because of the strike were eligible for refunds. 

The airline operates more than 600 flights per day carrying legions of passengers — sometimes more than 70,000, according to the company. Experts said even a brief shutdown would have cost WestJet millions of dollars during the height of summer travel.

The cabin crews’ job action came less than a year after the issue of unpaid ground work sparked a strike by 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada. In that case, Hajdu directed the country’s labour board to order them back to work just hours after they walked off the job.

The union defied the order, forcing Air Canada back to the bargaining table where the parties hashed out a tentative deal.

The move marked an extralegal precedent that served as a warning to airline executives across the country for future negotiations.

The federal government says that airlines in Canada and internationally typically compensate flight attendants for their flight time or for a block of hours based on what the industry calls a credit-based system. It generally provides supplements to cover non-flight duties.

WestJet says on its website that it offers this higher rate of pay that is credited across the work day.

The WestJet pay rate ranges between $28.88 and $53.61 per credit hour. At 80 credit hours a month — considered full-time work — that adds up to between $27,700 and $51,500 per year.

While many airlines maintain this type of compensation structure, Delta Air Lines spearheaded reforms in 2022 when it became the first carrier in North America to pay flight attendants specifically for work done on the ground. American Airlines and Alaska Airlines followed suit with boarding pay of 50 per cent of regular rates.

In February, Air Canada flight attendants secured compensation for ground work that will climb to 70 per cent of their hourly rate for the hour before takeoff — also known as boarding pay.

Ottawa launched an investigation into unpaid work in the airline sector in August 2025, when negotiations between Air Canada and the union representing its cabin crew boiled over.

The department said in the first phase of its probe that it was not easy for it to find the data needed to analyze the claims of workers and that it was unable to identify a sector-wide failure to meet federal wage standards.

But investigators flagged some issues with part-time and entry-level flight attendants for a closer look.

In May, Canada’s main flight attendants union cried foul on airline submissions to the government, as questions persist around what constitutes aviation “work.”

In a letter, the head of CUPE’s airline division said the self-audits on wages that airlines provided to authorities this month rely on a narrow and “misleading” definition of work in order to prove that cabin crew are paid fairly.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2026.