The WestJet mechanics strike may be over, but for passengers seeking compensation for flights cancelled before and during the strike, the battle is just beginning.
Here are the kinds of compensation and support experts say passengers affected by the cancellations may be entitled to, and how to go about advocating for it."in preparation for threat of strike by Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and other Tech Ops employees." That round of cancellations affected 3,000 passengers.
"It is the airline making a business or strategic decision as a bargaining technique to cancel flights in advance," he said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Monday, "and the airline is required to rebook the passengers on its own network or on partners within nine hours of the original departure time. Failing that, it is required to buy the passenger a ticket on a competitor airline.
"That's the scary part right now. Do you accept the refund? Is that absolving WestJet of any further costs or not?"As of noon on Sunday, the carrier had cancelled more than 800 flights, affecting tens of thousands of passengers. Though the strike ended that day, the blow to travellers had already been dealt.