Two months after Air Canada’s flight attendants went on strike, many passengers are still waiting to get their money back — and their patience is wearing thin. The three-day strike in mid-August brought the airline’s operations to a halt, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded. For Montrealer Rina Antonucci and her family, the ordeal has turned into a financial nightmare that remains unresolved.
Their return flight from Dublin to Montreal was cancelled, forcing them to buy last-minute tickets with another airline, pay for extra hotel nights, meals, and transportation. “In total, the expenses added up to around $16,000,” Antonucci said. Air Canada agreed to reimburse about $11,800 — $5,000 short of what she claimed — but the payment has yet to arrive. “They haven’t given us a reason as to why they’re not refunding us for the full amount,” she explained, adding that it felt as if the company “had shut down and disappeared entirely” when she tried to reach them for help.
The Antonucci family, four adults in total, also lost several days of work while stranded, compounding the financial blow. “On the personal side, we have older parents who were waiting for us to get back — there are other stories with more people affected because of this,” she said, questioning whether she would trust the airline again.
Air Canada says it is working through the massive backlog. Spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick noted the company is processing roughly 1,400 refund and compensation claims a day using new technology and around-the-clock staffing, aiming to clear most requests by the end of October. However, with half a million passengers affected and tens of thousands of claims filed, some customers believe the delays are deliberate. “They’re just trying to make things hard for clients in hopes that people will just give up,” Antonucci said.
Advocates are calling for accountability. Gábor Lukács, founder of Air Passenger Rights, said the drawn-out reimbursement process is fueling public anger and exposing weaknesses in Canada’s air passenger protection regime. “The Canadian Air Passenger Protection Regulations are more of a placeholder than real protections,” he argued, noting that airlines in the European Union face stricter rules and faster compensation timelines. Lukács urged passengers waiting more than 30 days to take their claims to small claims court, calling that the industry’s commercial standard.
Two proposed class-action lawsuits in Quebec aim to seek redress for passengers affected by the strike. Lukács believes hefty fines — in the tens of millions of dollars — would send a strong message to the industry.
For Antonucci, the damage is already done. She says she will take her future business elsewhere and hopes both the government and Air Canada rethink how passengers and staff are treated. “Maybe by giving the flight attendants what they wanted would have been a better idea for everyone,” she said.