Air Canada ‘Sickout’ Disrupts Flights

Air Canada pilot sickout | BCBusiness
Air Canada pilots staged a “sickout” Friday, disrupting or cancelling dozens of flights across the country.

Workers for the nation’s largest airline continue to show their dissatisfaction as pilots call out ‘sick,’ disrupting or cancelling dozens of flights.

 Air Canada is having a particularly bad Friday the 13^th.
 
Pilots for Canada’s flagship airline rounded up the week with what’s been coined a “sickout” – a large number of pilots all calling out sick simultaneously. The result: dozens of cancelled flights and a touch of chaos as the disruptions set off weary travellers.
 
Thus far, somewhere around 100 flights were cancelled or delayed at major airports across the country, including Toronto’s Pearson International, Montreal’s Trudeau International and a few here at Vancouver International.
 
Air Canada has seen more than its fair share of disruptions lately caused by discontented employees. The pilots’ “sickout” is considered an illegal job action and is the second of its kind since the government issued back-to-work legislation stripping workers of their right to strike last month. Employees defying the law face fines up to $1,000 per day of non-compliance.
 
In addition to two “sickouts,” Air Canada workers also waged a wildcat strike late last month to protest the suspension of three ground crew workers who were suspended after allegedly heckling Labour Minister Lisa Raitt.
 
All the back-to-back disruptions have ticked off travellers who have expressed their frustration via social media with hash tags such as #AirCanadasucks. Based on some of the angry responses, all the disruptions have created enough chaos to put some passengers off flying with Air Canada altogether.