For More Than Six Months ALPA Has Reportedly Lobbied The Government For Targeted Support

AKPA reports that Canada's aviation sector continues to struggle from the effects of COVID-19, and the continued inaction of the federal government is killing industry jobs and negatively impacting the lives of Canadians. This week Air Transat announced it was reducing its flight schedule and eliminating half of the remaining pilot positions.

“Only 14 percent of the pilots who were employed by Air Transat at the start of the pandemic remain employed with the airline. While safety remains our top priority, the punitive travel restrictions put in place by the government and a failure to provide labor-focused assistance for airlines make it impossible for Air Transat to do business. We hear the government continue to promise action, but until that happens, our pilots feel like it is a career-ending nightmare, and it is not sustainable anymore for the employers and the employees, ”said Pierre Lessard, chairman of the Air Transat Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l (ALPA).

For more than six months, ALPA has respectfully lobbied the government for targeted support as the Association and its members fight to stop the failure of Canada's airline industry.

“We did not receive any firm commitment from the government with respect to targeted support for the airline industry, and right now words are simply not enough,” said ALPA Canada President Tim Perry. “Each week we are seeing pilot cuts, and the Transat pilots are the latest victims of this ongoing saga and why federal assistance is needed even more urgently.”

Canadian airlines employ more than 50,000 people directly and another 141,000 indirectly with an economic footprint of $ 35 billion, and they support millions of other jobs throughout the economy.

ALPA recently provided the government with forward-looking recommendations, in its Finance Committee prebudget submission, that provide a clear path to assisting the industry's COVID-19 recovery efforts and future growth.

The Association continues to call for the federal government to help remove the jurisdictional barriers and work with the provinces on a coordinated safe return to domestic air travel that uses a science-based, physician-endorsed approach and incorporates new understanding and best practices for safe air travel in our new reality. This includes rapid testing and temperature checks, personal protective equipment, stringent and visible cleaning protocols, and strict measures to limit contact on and off aircraft.

FMI: www.alpa.org