Strike by 1,800 WestJet pilots narrowly averted

The strike by WestJet airline pilots which was to have been called on Friday night has been averted.

The company and the union which represents the approximately 1,800 pilots of the WestJet and Swoop brands say they have reached a last-minute agreement, avoiding a strike which would have broken out just before the long weekend in May.

The Calgary-based airline had grounded most of its fleet on Thursday, grounding its 130 planes at airports from Vancouver to Halifax and leaving thousands of travelers in limbo across Canada.

The shutdown affected dozens of routes within Canada, to the United States and overseas, while regional service flights from WestJet Encore and WestJet-owned Sunwing Airlines were unaffected.

WestJet and Swoop pilots were scheduled to leave work Friday at 5 a.m. EST after the Air Line Pilots Association issued strike notice last Monday.

The airline advises that returning service to normal will take some time. She advises travelers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport and to visit WestJet’s Customer Updates webpage or Swoop’s website for more information on flight status.

Bernard Lewall, who heads the union’s WestJet contingent, said the dispute was over wages, job security and working hours. He pointed out that WestJet pilots earn about half the salary of some of their counterparts in the United States.

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