WestJet Strike Is Over — Tentative Agreement Reached With CUPE Flight Attendants, But Recovery Continues Today as Passenger Waiver Expires — 922 of 2,365 Flights Cancelled Between August 1-5 — 13% Wage Increase Plus New “Duty Pay Premium” — What Affected Travellers Need to Know Now

The strike is over. The disruption isn’t — at least not yet.

WestJet and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 8125, representing the airline’s roughly 4,400 Mainline flight attendants, reached a tentative agreement overnight, ending a work stoppage that cancelled 922 of 2,365 scheduled flights — nearly 39% of WestJet’s entire schedule — between August 1 and 5, disrupting one of the busiest long weekends of the Canadian summer. WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said the airline was pleased to have reached an agreement reflecting the hard work and professionalism of its cabin crew, and the union confirmed the strike was over and attendants would return to work immediately.

But for travellers, the story isn’t finished. WestJet has explicitly warned that a full return to normal operations will take time, as the airline works to reposition aircraft and crews that were scattered or put into storage during the walkout, and has not provided a firm timetable for restoring its complete schedule. Today, August 6, is also the final day of WestJet’s extended flexible change and cancellation waiver — meaning anyone still holding a booking affected by the lingering disruption needs to act today if they want to rebook or cancel without a fee.

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Published: August 6, 2026 — Thursday (Strike Resolved, Recovery Phase, Waiver Expires Today)
Deal reached: Overnight, tentative agreement between WestJet and CUPE Local 8125
Strike duration: August 2 – early August 4 (approx. 2 days of active work stoppage)
Flights cancelled: 922 of 2,365 scheduled (≈39%) between August 1–5
Core dispute: Compensation for ground duties — boarding, safety checks, delay management
Wage increase: 13%, effective October 1, retroactive to January 1, 2026
Future increases: 2.5% annually through 2029
New provision: “Duty pay premium” — pay for all duty hours, addressing the union’s unpaid ground-work claim, equivalent to a further ~12% salary increase
Passenger waiver: Extended through today, August 6, 2026 — final day for free one-time change or cancellation
Not affected by the strike: WestJet Encore and code-share partner-operated flights
Recovery status: WestJet says operations are resuming gradually — some flights may continue to be disrupted with no firm restoration date given
Reported ongoing impact: International passengers, including some stranded in Europe, still reporting cancellations days after the strike ended
APPR note: Rebooking on the next available flight applies for Canada-domestic travel; cash compensation does not apply to labour disruptions under APPR
Government role: No binding arbitration was imposed — the deal was reached at the bargaining table, unlike Air Canada’s 2025 dispute

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How the Deal Came Together

The breakthrough came after WestJet released details on Sunday of the offer it had put on the table during last-minute weekend talks: a 13% pay increase effective October 1 and made retroactive to January 1, 2026, followed by annual increases of 2.5% through 2029. Alongside the base wage increase, WestJet proposed what it called a “duty pay premium” — additional compensation for all duty hours, which the airline says is designed to directly address the union’s central claim that flight attendants were performing substantial unpaid work during boarding, safety checks, and delay management. WestJet valued this premium as equivalent to a further 12% increase in salary on top of the base raise.

Neither side has released the final details of what was actually agreed overnight, and a union spokesperson declined to specify exactly how the tentative deal differs from the offer WestJet publicized over the weekend. What is clear is that the agreement reflects a broader pattern reshaping flight attendant compensation across North America: Air Canada, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines have all introduced some form of pay for boarding or other specified ground time in recent contracts, and WestJet’s own settlement now brings it into that same emerging standard — increasing pressure on any remaining holdout carriers to follow suit.

Notably, unlike Air Canada’s 2025 strike, which ended only after the federal Labour Minister invoked binding arbitration to force a resolution, this dispute was resolved directly at the bargaining table without government intervention — a detail CUPE Local 8125’s leadership had specifically hoped for going into the standoff.

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What “Recovery Phase” Actually Means for You

WestJet has been direct about one thing: ending the strike does not mean an immediate return to a normal schedule. The airline said explicitly that repositioning aircraft and crews — many of which were moved out of position or placed into storage ahead of the walkout to avoid stranding assets internationally — will take time, and it has not given passengers a specific date by which full operations will resume.

This matters most for two groups of travellers right now:

Passengers with upcoming WestJet bookings in the next several days should expect a meaningfully elevated risk of delays, aircraft swaps, or last-minute cancellations even though the strike itself is over, simply because the airline’s fleet and crew positioning has not yet normalized.

Passengers currently mid-itinerary, especially internationally, are the hardest hit by the recovery lag. Some Canadian travellers have reported their return flights home being cancelled by the airline days after the strike technically ended — one Canadian couple travelling in Europe had their WestJet flight home to Miramichi, New Brunswick, from Portugal cancelled well into the recovery period, illustrating that international routings dependent on specific aircraft rotations are often the last to normalize.

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The Waiver Expires Today — What to Do

WestJet’s flexible change and cancellation policy, extended to cover travel scheduled up to and including today, August 6, 2026, allows eligible WestJet, WestJet Vacations, Sunwing, and Vacances WestJet Québec guests to make one date change or cancellation at no additional cost. Changes must be made at least two hours before your originally scheduled departure.

If you have any WestJet travel today or were affected by the disruption over the past week:

✅ Check your specific flight status directly on WestJet’s app or website before heading to the airport — don’t assume the strike ending means your flight is unaffected
✅ Use today’s waiver window if you have any doubt about your flight’s reliability — this is the last day the fee-free change applies
✅ If your flight is cancelled by the airline itself (not a self-initiated change), you retain your full rights to a refund or rebooking, and do not need to use the waiver to access those
✅ Be aware of an important distinction: if you proactively change your own travel plans, government regulations note you may waive certain compensation rights — even if the airline later cancels or changes your original flight. Making changes through the airline-initiated cancellation process (rather than a voluntary change) preserves your full regulatory protections

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Your Rights Refresher — Now That the Strike Has Ended

✅ Domestic Canada (APPR)

For flights entirely within Canada affected by the strike, you were and remain entitled to rebooking on the next available flight and a refund if you choose not to travel. As covered in our earlier reporting on this dispute, APPR does not provide cash compensation specifically for labour disruptions — this remains true for any residual cancellations during the recovery period, since the underlying cause traces back to the same labour dispute.

✅ International Routes (UK261/EU261)

For WestJet’s international routes — including the Portugal-Canada routing affected in the case above — EU261 and UK261 protections apply on the European end. Airline staff strikes are generally treated as within the airline’s control, meaning cash compensation of up to £520/€600 per passenger could still apply to cancellations tied to the strike period, even now during the recovery phase, if the cancellation’s root cause remains the labour action.

✅ Full Refund — Always Available

Regardless of the strike’s end, any WestJet flight cancelled by the airline entitles you to a full refund to your original payment method if you decline rebooking.

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Airline & Union Contacts

Canadian Transportation Agency (APPR guidance): otc-cta.gc.ca UK CAA passenger rights: caa.co.uk/passengers

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Related Articles:

• WestJet Strike Day 2: 600 Flights Cancelled, Thousands Stranded — August 3, 2026
• WestJet Strike Final Warning — August 1, 2026: 4,400 Flight Attendants Could Walk Out Tomorrow
• Air Canada Strike Threat February 28, 2026: 5,800 Customer Service Agents Can Walk Out — Toronto Pearson Spring Break Crisis

Posted By : Vinay

As a lead contributor for Travel Tourister, Vinay is dedicated to serving our Tier 1 audience (US, UK, Canada, Australia). His mission is to deliver precise, fact-checked news and actionable, data-driven articles that empower readers to make informed decisions, minimize travel risks, and maximize their adventure without compromising safety or budget.