Air Transat closes Vancouver base leaving 200 staff in the lurch

Jan 23 2023, 9:18 pm

Air Transat is closing its Vancouver base, and approximately 200 employees will have to relocate to eastern Canada or be out of a job.

The Canadian airline informed staff on January 18 that it would be relocating flight crews based in Vancouver to Montreal and Toronto by July.

“The experience and expertise of our Vancouver-based flight crew are invaluable. We sincerely thank them and hope many of them will remain with Transat,” the company said in a statement to Daily Hive.

CUPE, the union representing the affected flight attendants, said the announcement affects more than 200 flight attendants. The union is currently negotiating adequate severance pay for members who will lose their jobs and moving assistance for those changing bases.

“Despite our understanding of the economic imperatives that have forced Air Transat to make this terrible decision, our employer must keep in mind that the vast majority of our members at our Vancouver base have dedicated decades of loyal services to the company,” Dominic Levasseur, president of CUPE’s Air Transat component, said in a statement. “Transat must take responsibility for its employees who will be laid off or need to transfer thousands of kilometres away.”

Air Transat maintained that its number of employees would stay the same — just consolidated in eastern Canada. It also said its flight schedules involving Vancouver International Airport wouldn’t be affected.

Megan DevlinMegan Devlin

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