Thousands of passengers are caught in the middle as Air Canada flight attendants remain on strike despite a back-to-work order.
Air Canada said on Monday that flights are cancelled as more than 10,000 workers remain on the picket lines.
"All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights have been cancelled until further notice," the airline said. It says passengers should not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking on another airline.
Here's what travellers need to know:
What happens if I accept the refund Air Canada is offering me?
If a passenger accepts the refund from the airline, Air Canada says it will not be responsible for rebooking the passenger on a different flight.
That means customers who take this option will have money in their pockets but are on their own if they need to make new travel plans.
What's the airline's rebooking policy?
Air Canada has said it will rebook passengers on the first available flight if their original flight is cancelled. However, it has warned delays are expected amid the peak summer travel season.
Passengers that have travel booked between Aug. 15 and Aug. 22 can change those flights to new ones flying between Aug. 23 and Sept. 30, 2025 at no charge, Air Canada said in a release Monday.
For a non-refundable ticket, passengers can cancel ahead of time and get a travel voucher for the future, or request a full refund if they were supposed to be travelling on Monday or Tuesday.
Passengers who move their flights into this new window can change their flight back to their original booking if the labour disruption ends before the journey.
However, travellers are not eligible for compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, meals and hotels because a labour disruption is considered outside of the airline's control, according to the Airline Passenger Protection Regulations.
Full details of the policy are available on the airline's website.
Air Canada couldn't rebook my flight. What should I do?
The airline said passengers can request a refund for the affected flight, or wait to be accommodated on a different airline, but it's not guaranteed and can take longer.
"If you accept a refund, then you would arguably have waived your right to ultimate transportation," air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs said.
"The obligation of the airline in this situation is primarily to offer alternate transportation, including on competitor airlines," said Lukacs, president of the advocacy group Air Passenger Rights, said.
He noted that opting into a refund is up to the passenger to choose.
Air Canada says it will work to rebook its passengers on the first available flights.
Richard Vanderlubbe, president of the travel agency tripcentral.ca, said his travel agency has been relying on creative options, such as flying people into the United States and getting over the border via a different mode of transportation.
"We've seen people ending up in New York City and having to Greyhound back, I mean, it's a whole hodgepodge of different situations, depending on how badly people need to get home," he said.
I'm stranded at my destination/in another country. Will I be compensated for the extra costs I'm incurring?
Air Canada will not cover incidental expenses, such as hotel stays, meals and rental cars, if passengers are stuck at the destination away from home.
"The costs are just astronomical beyond just the cost of the tickets or the unused tickets," said Vanderlubbe. "It becomes the increased cost of a replacement flight, hotels, everything else that's going on, while somebody is trying to get home.
"The airline is not covering any of that."
Air passenger rights advocate Lukacs said international travellers are likely eligible for incidental compensation under the Montreal Convention, or Carriage by Air Act.
"It says that the airline can avoid liability for delay only if the airline proves that the airline, the airline’s agents, and the airline’s servants have taken all reasonable measures to prevent the delay or that there were no such measures available," Lukacs wrote in his blog on Monday.
He said Air Canada could have handled the situation differently.
"They could find you a different flight, or they could just have settled with their employees," he said in an interview. "It's labour relations. It's entirely within their control."
If I want to complain, what is the process?
Getting hold of Air Canada's customer service can be challenging right now.
Vanderlubbe said he wasn't able to reach customer care at all Monday, while the hold times have averaged four hours over the past days.
Air Canada offers a claim submission form on its website to file a complaint or concern. Passengers can also escalate their complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency or call the CTA for advice at 1-888-222-2592.
Lukacs said the right order of events is to wait for the flights to be cancelled and allow the airline to get back to you with an alternative itinerary.
He recommends another option if you need to reach your destination.
"After three hours or a clear, 'No', you buy yourself a ticket on a competitor if you can find something for whatever price there is," he said. "Fly, send the bill to Air Canada, give them a 30-day demand for payment.
"After 30 days, serve them with small claims court papers and make them pay."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX: AC)
Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press
