Air Transat (potential) strike: Ultimate guide (December 2025)

A strike at Air Transat is not a certainty, but it’s definitely a real possibility. Indeed, 99% of pilots just voted “yes” to a strike mandate. Recent labor conflicts don’t allow us to be particularly optimistic, so all savvy travelers should at least be aware of the situation and, most importantly, of their options and their rights.

Air Transat could also lock out its pilots instead of there being a strike, but that would have an identical effect (the only difference is it would give you more rights). So I’ll mainly use the term “strike” in this guide, to lighten and shorten everything.

Flytrippers has been sharing its travel expertise with you for almost 9 years now, so we obviously want to help you if you’re worried about this situation that is certainly very unpleasant.

Here’s everything you need to know about the (potential) strike at Air Transat.

What is this potential strike at Air Transat?

The potential strike at Air Transat is the culmination of the negotiation process for a new labor contract with the pilots. The negotiations are not going very well at all to date (and it’s been going on for over 10 months).

Here’s the essential:

• The pilots union now has a strike mandate
  • An agreement could still be reached
  • A government intervention could still take place
• The strike can begin on December 10 at 12:00 a.m.
  • All flights operated by Air Transat would be canceled
  • Some flights could be canceled in the 2-3 days before
• It’s vital to act now if you absolutely cannot be delayed
  • You shouldn’t wait to be sure not to arrive later than planned
  • It obviously won’t be the time to act on the day itself
• It’s vital to know your rights as a passenger
  • You must always take responsibility and not rely on airlines
  • Nor on certain media that just regurgitate their press releases

I’ll detail all of this here in this guide.

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What are my rights if there’s a strike at Air Transat?

You have many rights as a passenger, but unfortunately, so many travelers simply aren’t aware of them. 

Here’s the infographic that summarizes your rights.

We’ll make an even more detailed guide on this aspect this weekend. So make sure you’re signed up for our free newsletter to get it first.

But I want to specifically highlight the main points right away.

You can always, at a minimum, choose between 2 options if your flight is cancelled:

• Option 1: Complete your trip for free on another airline
  • Air Transat has 48 hours to do it, though
  • And it can take longer too, obviously (there aren’t unlimited seats)
  • You’ll get 500 CAD or 1000 CAD for hotels and meals effortlessly
  • If you paid for your flight with a good credit card (as always)
  • Thanks to flight delay insurance (one of the most important travel tips)
  • The airline must also provide you with food and lodging (except for domestic flights)
  • You’ll be entitled to 600 EUR per person if your flight departs from Europe
  • You have additional rights if the flight is cancelled before the strike
  • You have additional rights if the flight is cancelled by a lockout instead of a strike
• Option 2: Get a full refund in cash (not a travel credit)
  • You give up absolutely all your rights and recourse

Warning: Airlines almost always try to make you believe that option #1 doesn’t exist.

Most travelers are unfortunately very poorly informed about their rights (as with many travel topics), and many travelers who are informed don’t want to have to make the effort to “fight” to claim their rights.

Airlines know this and try to make huge savings… refunding you costs them so much less than the other option. To be very clear, this isn’t specific to Air Transat (or Air Canada): all airlines worldwide do this.

What happens if there’s a strike at Air Transat?

All flights are canceled if there’s a strike or lockout at Air Transat, unfortunately. It’s quite difficult to operate flights without pilots!

Some flights may even start to be canceled before the official start of the strike, because airlines cannot leave their aircraft and their crews out of position and must suspend their operations in an orderly manner.

What happens next depends on what you want and what you’ve done to prepare. I’m getting to that section.

And when the strike is over, it’s going to take days before getting back to normal. At that point, there will be fewer cancellations, but still a lot of delays. It’s normal; it’s very complex to restart an entire network of airline routes (even a relatively small one like Air Transat’s).

Especially right in the middle of one of the busiest travel periods of the year. This timing by the union is certainly not a coincidence!

Will there be a strike at Air Transat?

No one can predict if there will actually be a strike or lockout at Air Transat, unfortunately.

Everything could be resolved at the last minute without any flight disruptions at all… or it could be absolute chaos, like with the Air Canada strike this summer.

Air Transat strangely hasn’t even offered a waiver yet to allow free flight changes, which is either a sign of their high level of confidence or quite simply a very customer-unfriendly idea… Air Canada had done this very early.

The only thing you can do is have a plan that works no matter which scenario materializes.

When will we know if there’s a strike at Air Transat?

We won’t know much in advance if there’s really a strike or lockout at Air Transat, unfortunately.

The earliest that the 72-hour strike notice can be given is December 7, for a strike on December 10. Flights would be cancelled very last minute, and that’s normal, even if it’s unpleasant; airlines cannot cancel flights until it’s absolutely certain that they must cancel them.

What would be the dates of the strike at Air Transat?

Here’s the most up-to-date timeline:

• Until December 7: Negotiations continue to avoid the strike
• December 7 at 12:00 a.m.: The 72-hour strike notice can be given
• December 7-8-9: Flights on these days may be canceled preemptively
• December 10 at 12 AM: The earliest the strike can legally begin
• December 10: All flights would be canceled if there’s a strike
• December ~12: The approximate date when the government would likely intervene based on this summer 
• December ~20: The approximate date the majority of disruptions would likely be over based on this summer

The level of risk obviously is not the same from one date to another.

Here is the very approximate risk level according to your flight date:

• December 7 to December 9
  • Risk is especially high on the 9^th
  • Much less on the 7^th and 8^th
• December 10 to December ~12
  • Risk is the highest
  • All flights would be cancelled starting on the 10^th
  • Impossible to predict how long it would last
  • But reasonable to think it will last at least 3 days
• December ~13 to December ~20
  • Risk is somewhat less high
  • Government intervention probably will be quick to end the strike
  • Even once the strike is over, there will still be delays and disruptions
• December ~21 to December ~31
  • Risk is much less high
  • Even once the strike is over, there will still be delays and disruptions
  • It shouldn’t go until these dates, but it’s one of the busiest weeks
• 2026
  • Very low risk
  • Stay alert, but it would be very, very, very surprising if it goes until then

What should I do to prepare for a strike at Air Transat?

You must inform yourself in advance, because it obviously won’t be the time to do that on the day itself if your flight is canceled. Good preparation is 1 of the 6 most important tricks to make your travels more affordable, but also to make them more enjoyable.

You’re already doing it by reading this, so I sincerely congratulate you. Most travelers put in no effort, and then they perpetuate the very false myths that traveling is expensive and/or that traveling is “stressful”… Of course it is if you don’t prepare!

So concretely, here’s what you need to do according to your situation.

There are 3 scenarios:

• If you want to cancel your trip completely or postpone it until later
• If you want to keep your trip and you’re comfortable with potentially being delayed a bit
• If you want to keep your trip and you absolutely don’t want to be delayed at all

Here’s what to do if you want to cancel your trip completely or postpone it until later:

• If you booked a fare class that has cancellation/modification fees
  • WAIT before doing anything!!!
  • There’s no point in cancelling in advance (as always; such a common mistake)
  • If your flight is cancelled, you’ll be able to get a full refund in cash
  • If it’s not, the cancellation/modification fees won’t change
  • Just check the deadline for cancellation/modification
  • Air Transat will likely also at least waive these fees by the 10^th (let’s hope)
• If you booked a fare class that doesn’t have cancellation/modification fees
  • Consider not doing that next time, it’s rarely worth it
  • For this time, it allows you to cancel/modify right away without waiting

Here’s what to do if you want to keep your trip and you’re comfortable with potentially being delayed a bit:

• Wait and hope that your flight isn’t cancelled
  • That’s a real possibility
• Know your rights above (and this weekend) in case your flight is cancelled
  • Check if the card you paid with has flight delay insurance
  • All the good ones have it, so if yours doesn’t… get a better one
  • Check that strikes are covered (almost always the case)
  • By Googling “(card name) certificate of insurance”
  • Find other flight options in advance and note the flight numbers
  • So you can be ready to request them from Air Transat very fast
  • As always, it’s easier when you take responsibility

Here’s what to do if you want to keep your trip, and you absolutely don’t want to be delayed at all

• Book a backup flight
  • On another airline obviously
  • Either a fully refundable flight (more expensive)
  • Or a regular flight (less expensive)
  • Compare prices (it varies; as always for flights)
  • Taking into account cancellation/modification fees
• If you book a fully refundable backup flight (more expensive)
  • If you end up not needing it, you can refund it for free
  • If you end up needing it, you’ll get refunded for your initial flight
• If you book a regular backup flight (less expensive)
  • You can decide to simply fly this one in all cases
  • Or to get it refunded if you end up not needing it
  • Compare the cancellation fees with those of your initial flight to choose
  • If you decide to cancel your initial flight, WAIT (see the 1^st scenario)

Always paying for all your flights with a good credit card is truly one of the most important travel tips. It gives you lots of free protections without having to depend on the airline. Here’s yet another great example of that!!!

How could the Air Transat strike end?

Here is what can end the strike if there is one:

• A deal between both parties
• An agreement to go to arbitration
• An intervention by the federal government

Air Transat probably has hope that the last option materializes, given that the Carney Government got involved extremely quickly in the Air Canada flight attendants’ strike this summer, which scandalized the union and many people.

It’s a complex and nuanced topic, but what is certain and objective is that it makes no sense to elect a government that wants to get involved in everything and then be surprised that this government wants to get involved in everything! 😅

We will obviously follow all this very closely for you and keep you updated.

What flights may be affected by the Air Transat strike? 

Only flights operated by Air Transat can be affected. Flights operated by any other airline are not affected, even if you booked with Air Transat and even if the flight has an Air Transat flight number… 

Understanding the difference between the airline that sells a flight and the airline that operates a flight is really one of the most basic things possible, but it doesn’t seem clear for many, like the whole concept of airline partnerships in fact. 

All that matters is the airline that operates your flight. Air Transat pilots don’t work on Porter planes, so an Air Transat pilots’ strike doesn’t affect Porter flights.

What happens with vacation packages during the Air Transat strike? 

We launched Flytrippers with the mission of helping Canadians travel for less, but we honestly insist on encouraging only independent travel. 

We’re experts in real travel and we don’t know much about packages (other than the fact that they’re clearly inferior to real travel😉). 

We always like to share tips and advice only on things we know extremely well, so we’ll continue to do that. 

These tips are therefore for flights affected by the Air Transat strike, and we absolutely don’t know as much about the impact on packages. 

The flight portion is simple. The hotel portion gets complicated because it’s not regulated. The protections are much better for flights.

It’s also one of the many good reasons to book independent trips, because having a package somewhat invalidates the protections on flights, as it’s not easy to get compensation for lost nights if you choose to complete your trip on another airline.

And another good reason is that almost all hotels are refundable (or at least modifiable) completely free until very close to the stay when you book them independently. That’s very convenient for when plans change, no matter the reason.

And another reason is that you can be self-reliant, and if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, especially in the world of travel. With a package, you’re entirely at the mercy of the tour operator because you’ve already given them all your money. They’ll surely do everything to make you choose the refund option, which is much cheaper for them!

No clear protection exists for lost nights… the only easy thing is to just cancel everything. Traveling this way, therefore, gives you fewer options in situations of disrupted flights, no matter the reason. Having more options is always better than not having options!

So concretely, you would therefore have to insist on either a refund for the missing nights, or a free extension of the stay to compensate… and this frankly won’t be easy to get.

Because once again, the protections for flights are well-regulated and clear. This just isn’t the case for packages.

What led to this potential strike at Air Transat? 

Air Transat employees, like those at Air Canada and WestJet recently, want a labor contract with better conditions (including more money obviously, but not just that). 

The biggest problem is that the financial context is completely different; we already mentioned to you that Air Transat lost 114 million dollars in 2024, for a 6^th consecutive year of net losses… 

In short, without going into too much detail, I can at least share the objective facts about what led us to the current situation. 

Here’s the timeline of events from the beginning:

• Negotiations with pilots have been ongoing for 10 months
  • 400 hours of negotiations have taken place
  • Their last contract dates back 10 years
• There was an impasse in negotiations in September
  • There has been no “significant progress”
• The pilots’ union filed the official dispute notice 
  • With the Canadian Minister of Labour
• A federal conciliator was appointed
  • Mandatory conciliation lasted 60 days (the legal minimum)
• A 21-day cooling-off period followed
  • Since November 19
• A strike vote was organized
  • Results were announced on December 3
  • 99% voted “yes”
  • Turnout was 98%
• The cooling-off period ends on December 10
  • The strike can legally begin

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Summary

The union representing Air Transat pilots now has a strike mandate. The strike notice can be given on the 7^th, and a strike can be triggered on the 10^th. If that happens, it will continue until there is an agreement (or government intervention, more likely). That means absolutely all flights would be cancelled in the meantime. And it will take days for the situation to return to normal even after the strike ends. Stay tuned.

What would you like to know about the Air Transat strike? Tell us in the comments below.

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Featured image: Infographic (image credit: Flytrippers)