Canadian business on Thursday called on the federal government to intervene to prevent disruption to air traffic if Air Canada pilots go on strike.
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“Canada cannot afford another major disruption to its transportation network. “A work stoppage at Air Canada would impact our economy, from tourism to critical supply chains,” said Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, in a statement.
The group of business leaders argued that a strike would not only impact personal and business travel, but also “the economy in general” as the airline is “a key pillar of travel and commerce in Canada.”
Faced with the possibility of a pilot strike, Air Canada announced last Monday that it was preparing to suspend most of its flights starting Sunday.
Negotiations between the airline and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents more than 5,200 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge pilots, continue but are approaching “an impasse.”
The airline initially expects service to be disrupted for three days, but does not rule out a “complete disruption of service” from September 18 if the conflict continues.
In this scenario, the recovery phase can take up to 10 days.
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