Labour dispute resulting in flight delays and cancellations at Pearson

Toronto —Toronto Pearson International Airport is seeing a spike in cancelled and delayed flights today due to a labour dispute between its airlines and their fueling company.

Only 17 of the 47 employees who refuel planes at the airport and were scheduled to work this morning showed up, resulting in a significant backlog of planes being stuck on the tarmac as they await fuel.

As a result, delays of up to four hours have been reported by some travellers.

The unexpected absences come as tensions rise over an airline consortium’s decision to end its contract with Consolidated Aviation as of Sept. 30 and switch over Service International Group.

That decision will mean that workers earning between $18 and $23 per hour will get no more than $14 an hour should they reapply for their current jobs with the new provider, according to International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers spokesperson Bill Trbovich.

“We didn’t condone this but it is a situation that has been brought about by the airlines cancelling the contract and forcing the issue,” Trbovich told CP24 on Friday morning. “The workers here in Toronto will lose their jobs as of Oct. 1 and the alternative is to go to work for another provider at $7 to $8 less an hour with no pension and possibly no benefits.”

Trbovich said that his union was not notified of today’s action in advance and only became aware of it after receiving several media calls on Friday morning.

It is not immediately clear when employees will return to work, but Trbovich said that it is his expectation that the vast majority of employees will not show up for a 1:30 p.m. shift.

“We have had conversations with our leads on the tarmac and as it stands now they are getting indications that nobody is coming in,” he said.

As of 2:30 p.m., 7.3 per cent of all flights had been cancelled, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said. The majority of the cancellations are due to the labour action, the GTAA said.

Travellers are being urged to check their flight status before heading to the airport.

Air Canada has also waived flight change fees for all passengers departing from Pearson.

Meanwhile, the GTAA has called in extra staff to help advise travellers.

“Unfortunately the airlines have been caught in the middle and we are doing everything we can to get our customers on the way and to take care of them,” Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick told CP24. “We want to get as many people on the road as soon as we can and get them to their destination safely.”