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Virgin Australia codeshare passengers to Vancouver are stuck in limbo as Air Canada flights remain grounded by a flight attendants’ strike.
The Canadian flag carrier, which has been a Virgin partner since 2023, flies daily to Sydney and six times per week to Brisbane from Vancouver, but has seen all flights cancelled since 16 August as cabin crew from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) continue industrial action.
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Disrupted passengers who have booked Air Canada services through Virgin are being offered free-of-charge rebooking on the next available flight or full refunds in accordance with Air Canada’s policies, Virgin Australia has confirmed.
According to Air Canada, around 500,000 passengers have now been impacted by the strike, which has continued despite the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ruling it unlawful and ordering the staff members to return to work.
“In response to a labour disruption by CUPE that led to a strike on August 16, Air Canada has been cancelling flights on a rolling basis,” Air Canada said in a statement.
“At present, all flights by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge are cancelled until the afternoon (EDT) of August 19, 2025. Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz or PAL continue to operate as normal.
“Customers whose flights are cancelled are being notified of the cancellations and offered options that include a full refund, a future travel credit or rebooking on another airline. Those whose flights are cancelled are strongly advised not to go to the airport, unless they have a confirmed booking on a flight by another carrier.
“Air Canada’s intended restart of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations, which have been grounded since August 16 as a result of CUPE’s labour disruption, was prevented yesterday by CUPE leadership’s unlawful strike activities.”
At a press conference on Monday, CUPE national president Mark Hancock was defiant, saying that while the union is “committed to making a deal” on a collective agreement, it “will not resolve this by taking away the rights of workers who are already struggling to make ends meet”.
“We are here because of Air Canada, a company that clocked $3.5 billion in profit in the past few years, and a company that thinks simply paying workers for their time on the job is too much to ask,” he told media.
“We’re going to stay strong. We’re going to stay committed to making sure that those workers can do the job that they love doing, and actually be able to afford a roof over their heads, to afford caring for their families.
“If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it. We’re looking for a solution here. Our members want a solution here, but that solution has to be found at a bargaining table.”
Virgin rival Qantas has no Canadian partner airlines, but offers its own direct flights between Sydney and Vancouver, as well as connecting flights via the US through its codeshare partner American Airlines.
