Headline

Travel Chaos: Air Canada Shut Down By Flight Attendant Strike

Published

4 months ago

August 16, 2025

Air Canada’s flight attendants went on strike early Saturday, forcing the airline to suspend all operations and creating travel chaos for its 130,000 daily passengers.

“We are now officially on strike,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flight attendants, said in a statement, ITV reports.

The airline, which operates direct flights to 180 cities worldwide, confirmed it had “suspended all operations” in response to the stoppage.

“Air Canada is strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport,” it said, adding that it “deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers.”

CUPE was legally able to strike from 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) Saturday, after giving a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. The walkout officially began at 12:58 a.m., both sides confirmed.

Air Canada had been winding down operations ahead of the labour action. By 8:00 p.m. Friday, it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers. Its full 700-flight schedule for Saturday has been scrapped.

Unpaid Ground Work at Issue
Alongside wage increases, CUPE says it wants compensation for unpaid ground duties, such as helping passengers during boarding.

Rafael Gomez, head of the University of Toronto’s Center for Industrial Relations, said it is “common practice, even around the world” to pay flight attendants only for time spent in the air.

He noted the union had built an effective campaign around the issue.

“‘I’m waiting to board the plane and there’s a flight attendant helping me, but they’re technically not being paid for that work,’” he said an average passenger might think.

“That’s a very good issue to highlight,” Gomez added, suggesting any gains made by Air Canada flight attendants could influence other carriers.

Air Canada outlined its latest offer in a Thursday statement, saying that under the terms, a senior flight attendant would earn on average CAN$87,000 ($65,000) by 2027.

CUPE has rejected the proposal, describing Air Canada’s offers as “below inflation (and) below market value.” The union has also turned down requests from the federal government and the airline to send the dispute to independent arbitration.

Stalemate During Peak Travel Season
Gomez said he did not expect the strike to last long.

“This is peak season,” he said. “The airline does not want to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue… They’re almost playing chicken with the flight attendants.”

The strike comes as Canada’s economy is already feeling pressure from U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump, affecting key industries such as auto, aluminum and steel.

The Business Council of Canada warned before the walkout that an Air Canada shutdown could worsen the strain.

“At a time when Canada is dealing with unprecedented pressures on our critical economic supply chains, the disruption of national air passenger travel and cargo transport services would cause immediate and extensive harm to all Canadians,” it said.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

15 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

Headline

Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

16 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

16 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP