YLW makes plans as WestJet strike looms and airline parks planes

With a strike by WestJet and Swoop pilots set to kick off at 2 a.m. Friday, the airline has started cancelling flights, partially impacting Kelowna's airport.

The company and the union are at a critical impasse and a work stoppage is imminent. As a result, WestJet and Swoop are parking the majority of their 737 and 787 fleets.

At the Kelowna Airport Thursday afternoon, Nancy Hunter and her daughter told Castanet the strike has already forced them to change their plans. The pair flew back from Winnipeg early on Thursday to ensure they did not get stranded.

"She wanted to visit her friends and spend her birthday there, we were supposed to be there until Saturday but we didn't want to get stuck, so she spent her birthday in airports," Hunter says.

YLW operations Manager Phil Elchitz says the strike is coming during one of the busiest weekends of the year.

"It's the start of the summer there were a lot of bookings. There are a number of passengers who are going to be affected," he said.

Of the 48 WestJet flights in and out of Kelowna each day, 14 will be stopped by the strike. The remaining flights—mostly smaller planes on regional routes—are carried by subsidiaries WestJet Link and Encore, which are not impacted.

YLW will set up a customer care centre to try and assist those who are impacted by the work stoppage. Echlitz says pilots will have a designated space to picket that should not impact other travellers.

"It's really important that passengers keep an eye on their email or whatever information they provided to WestJet because if there are cancellations, they will come through via that medium and you'll have the opportunity to rebook at that time," Echlitz said.

WestJet, meanwhile, says the two sides are still at the bargaining table.

“We are extremely disheartened to find ourselves in a place where we have to activate our contingency plan and subsequent takedown of our network as a result of the strike notice served by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association) and their inability to accept a reasonable offer," said WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech.“Any guest impact is too high of a cost in the wake of these negotiations and we sincerely apologize that valued guests were caught in the middle of an avoidable conflict.”