Yesterday morning, Sunday December 7, 2025, the airline Air Transat announced a strike notice, possibly effective within 72 hours.
For all Montrealers leaving to join their families for the festive season, for those awaiting a visit from a loved one living abroad, or for those allergic to the snow who were leaving to spend Christmas in the islands, this is very bad news.
Here’s everything we know about the possibility of this strike and how it could play out from today, December 8, 2025…
The strike?
In a press release dated December 7, 2025, the low-cost airline Air Transat announced that a strike notice (meaning a strike within 72 hours);
The union representing our pilots informed Air Transat of a strike notice on December 7, which can be exercised within 72 hours. This means that the strike could be formally called on December 10, and that our flight operations will be disrupted until an agreement is reached. This notice forces us to deploy an action plan that includes the gradual and orderly shutdown of our operations. – Air Transat
What’s happening today?
Air Transat’s objective is to conclude negotiations with the company’s pilots’ union by Wednesday – and that’s still a possibility. But they have a plan of attack in place to minimize the consequences of a strike that would ground all their planes within 72 hours.
For Montrealers who want to get home for the holidays, Air Transat has added “repatriation” seats on their flights today and tomorrow, and customers are being offered an earlier return to Montreal. For more info, click here!
Scheduled flights departing today, December 8, and tomorrow, December 9, are maintained, and for those leaving on vacation, no problem for these two days. For those who decide to cancel their tickets because of the strike, Air Transat plans to offer them a credit to be used over the next 12 months.
All this is explained by Dave Bourdages, Vice President Flight Operations at Air Transat, who spoke to Patrick Masbourian on Radio Canada this morning.
We recommend that anyone planning to travel with Air Transat before Christmas check their flight status, and wish everyone the best of luck,