Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge Operations Remain Suspended

Key Takeaways:

• All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights remain suspended.
• Rolling cancellations extend through the afternoon of Aug. 19 2025.
• Air Canada blames CUPE for not directing flight attendants back to work.
• The Canadian Industrial Relations Board has ordered flight attendants to resume duties immediately.
• Customers with canceled flights are being notified and offered options.

Grounded Until Further Notice
Air Canada said Monday that every flight operated by the flag carrier and its low-cost arm, Air Canada Rouge, “remains suspended,” a shutdown now scheduled to last at least until the afternoon of Aug. 19 2025. The airline announced “rolling cancellations” after failing to resolve a labor dispute that has kept flight attendants off aircraft and passengers off itineraries.

Why the Planes Are Parked
The carrier points to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents its cabin crews, accusing the union of “failing to direct its flight attendant members to resume the performance of their duties.” According to Air Canada, that instruction should have followed an order from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). Instead, the standoff continues, prolonging what is already one of the company’s most sweeping operational interruptions in recent memory.

Regulator Steps In
The CIRB has weighed in decisively, Air Canada noted, directing flight attendants “to resume the performance of their duties immediately.” The board’s mandate, however, has yet to deliver planes—or crews—back into the sky. Until CUPE instructs its members accordingly, the stoppage is expected to persist, pushing the airline’s schedule deeper into disarray.

Travelers Left Waiting
Customers caught in the cancellations are being contacted, Air Canada said, and offered “options.” The company did not detail those alternatives in Monday’s notice, but emphasized that affected travelers are receiving direct communication about their disrupted plans. With the next available flights still uncertain, many passengers face protracted delays or last-minute itinerary overhauls.

What Happens Next
For now, the only fixed marker is the afternoon of Aug. 19, the earliest point at which Air Canada’s network might begin to restart—provided the labor impasse lifts. Until then, the airline’s message remains blunt: its planes are staying on the ground, and its crews are expected—by federal order—to be back in the cabin before the carrier can be back in the air.