WestJet strike leaves northern travel plans up in the air

WestJet strike leaves northern travel plans up in the air

WestJet flight attendants went on strike on Sunday morning, cancelling flights across the country

For one Yellowknife family, flight cancellations are more than just a disappointment: they could leave a teen stranded far from home.

Robyn Scott had been planning a trip with her two children to visit family in the Maritimes for a year. She’d booked her flights six months in advance. They’re meant to board their flight from Yellowknife on Monday.

But after WestJet flight attendants went on strike on Sunday morning, that trip might not happen.

More importantly, it might leave her 15-year-old, Liz Stewart, stranded in Manitoba. They were visiting their grandparents, and were meant to fly on their own, meeting their mother and younger sister, Isla Stewart, 12, in Moncton on August 4.

“So if we're delayed several days, that really throws up a problem when they're a minor flying by themselves,” said Scott. “So just not knowing, you know. When they get to Moncton, I'll be able to find somebody to go pick them up, but will I even be joining them on this trip?”

In true northern fashion, she cobbled together a flight path across multiple airlines in order to get the best price. The first leg, from Yellowknife to Edmonton, is on WestJet– and if that one is cancelled, the rest may fall like dominos.

On Sunday morning, her flight was still being listed on WestJet’s website as on time. But Scott is uncertain how accurate that is.

The WestJet website on Sunday announced 309 cancellations across their network, including cancelled flights departing and arriving at both Yellowknife and Whitehorse. WestJet began parking Boeing 737 aircraft on Friday. But, the smaller De Havilland Dash Q400 planes operated by WestJet Encore remain in the air. Some flights out of Yellowknife fall under that category.

Scott said six months ago, she paid approximately $3000 for the trip for all three of them, which includes using companion vouchers and jumping between Air Canada and WestJet.

Travel to and from northern Canada is already expensive and often complicated, with few direct flights. Canadian North, which operates flights connecting the N.W.T., Nunavut and Nunavik with southern Canada, declined to comment on if passengers were rebooking with them. A one-way ticket from Yellowknife to Edmonton, to replace Scott’s WestJet flight, would cost $991.67 on Canadian North. The same flight on Air Canada starts at $863, according to their websites on Sunday.

“Rebooking with another airline is not an option right now,” said Scott.

Still, Scott says she supports the workers. Even if the union and WestJet don’t come to an agreement, Section 107 of Canada’s Labour Code gives the federal minister of labour the power to intervene, as they did in 2025 when Air Canada employees went on strike.

“I'm secretly, for my own selfish reasons, hoping that that happens. But at the same time, that's absolutely not fair and not the purpose of unions,” said Scott. “ I completely think that everything they're asking for is reasonable.”

She just hopes she can get her kid back home safely.

Jessica Davey-Quantick has been reporting in the North since 2016. She holds a Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) from the University of King's College, and a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies from Queen's University for her thesis, Dumpcano: Waste Management and Environmental Justice in Iqaluit. You can reach her at jessica.davey-quantick@cbc.ca.