Air Canada Flight Disruptions, Cancellations Increase

‍MONTREAL — Aviation analytics company Cirium is reporting operational disruptions to Air Canada (AC) services, with domestic and international flight cancellations fluctuating over the past week and ahead of this weekend.

Yesterday, the union representing more than 10,000 mainline flight attendants at Canadian flag carrier AC and its subsidiary Air Canada Rouge issued a 72-hour strike notice, paving the way for a strike to begin on Saturday, August 16 at 00:58 EDT.

Following the union's notification of its intention to strike, AC gave the CUPE the required 72-hour lockout notice and started the gradual suspension of most operations, which will be finished on Saturday.

As a result, many flights will be cancelled preemptively to ensure crews and aircraft make it back to bases before the strike begins. Below are the known cancellations at the time of writing.

Domestic Impact

Between August 8 and August 16, AC scheduled 3,179 domestic flights, of which 79 were canceled. 

The highest number of cancellations occurred on August 9 (16 flights) and August 12–13 (15 each). Cancellations dipped sharply in the latter part of the period, with zero reported on August 16.

International Impact

On international routes, AC scheduled 3,284 flights during the same nine-day span, canceling 29 in total. 

The peak came on August 13, with seven cancellations, while several days, including August 14–16, saw no international cancellations at all.

Cirium noted that the number of cancellations on August 14 began increasing during the morning. We’ll monitor the situation at AC for further developments.

72 Hour Flight Cancellation Updates

Aug 14, 5PM EST

Since the last update this morning, there have been four additional cancellations, raising today’s total to six. Tomorrow’s cancellations increased by three, bringing the total to five, while Saturday saw a net gain of five cancellations.

Air Canada’s schedule over the past several days shows a total of 6,463 flights scheduled and 120 cancellations, with daily cancellations ranging from 5 to 22. Operational changes continue to be monitored, with the next live update scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Aug 15, 9 AM EST

Air Canada has reported significant increases in flight cancellations, with 15 additional cancellations for August 14, 27 more for today, and 6 more for Saturday.

Over the past week, the airline has canceled 161 flights out of 5,740 scheduled, with the highest single-day total being 32 cancellations on August 15.

A detailed breakdown of international and domestic impacts will follow in the next update.

12 PM EST

According to the latest Cirium update, AC has seen a sharp rise in cancellations since this morning, jumping from 32 at 9 a.m. ET to a total of 165 by the latest update.

Domestic operations account for 176 cancellations out of 2,819 scheduled flights, with August 15 alone seeing 70 cancellations. International services have recorded 205 cancellations out of 2,922 flights, including 95 on August 15 and 81 projected for August 16.

The final update for today will be issued later, with monitoring continuing over the weekend and two daily reports planned for Saturday and Sunday.

5:30 PM EST

As of the end of the day, AC has cancelled a total of 185 flights—82 domestic and 103 international. Over the broader reporting period, domestic cancellations stand at 217 out of 2,819 scheduled flights, while international cancellations total 223 out of 2,922 scheduled flights.

Twice-daily operational reports will continue over the weekend.

Aug 16, 11 AM EST

On Saturday, AC reported the cancellation of 662 flights in total, including 342 domestic and 320 international services. The disruptions mark a sharp increase from earlier in the week, particularly on August 15–16, when cancellations spiked dramatically.

Domestically, out of 2,823 scheduled flights between August 10–17, 560 were cancelled, with the heaviest impact on August 16 (342 cancellations). Internationally, 494 of 2,917 scheduled flights were cancelled during the same period, again peaking on August 16 with 320 cancellations.

Air Canada noted it will provide another update on today’s operational status later this afternoon.

3:30 PM EST

Air Canada faced significant operational disruptions today, with a total of 671 flight cancellations, including 344 domestic and 327 international services. The cancellations marked a sharp spike compared to previous days, particularly on August 16, when nearly the entire domestic and international schedule was impacted.

In total, between August 10 and August 17, Air Canada scheduled 2,823 domestic flights and 2,917 international flights, of which 563 and 502 were cancelled, respectively.

The most severe disruptions occurred on August 15 and 16, with cancellations surging into the hundreds, affecting both domestic and international operations. Air Canada will continue to provide daily updates at the same reporting time tomorrow.

August 17, 11 AM EST

As of Sunday morning, AC has cancelled a total of 494 flights, with 244 domestic and 250 international services affected. The disruption follows several days of mounting cancellations, particularly severe on August 16, when 345 domestic and 374 international flights were grounded.

Overall, since August 11, Air Canada has scheduled 2,824 domestic flights with 749 cancellations, and 2,916 international flights with 762 cancellations. Further updates are expected later today.

3:45 PM EST

By the end of the weekend, Air Canada had cancelled a total of 688 flights, including 329 domestic and 359 international services.

The largest disruptions occurred on August 16 and 17, when nearly the entire schedule was affected—345 domestic and 373 international flights cancelled on the 16th, followed by 329 domestic and 359 international cancellations on the 17th.

Since August 11, the airline has scheduled 2,824 domestic flights with 840 cancellations and 2,916 international flights with 875 cancellations, underscoring the scale of the operational crisis.

August 18, 9:45 AM EST

As of Monday morning, Air Canada has cancelled a total of 578 flights, split almost evenly between domestic (291) and international (287) operations. The disruption escalated significantly over the past week, with only a handful of cancellations early on but major spikes beginning August 15.

On the domestic side, cancellations surged from fewer than 20 per day to 91 on August 15, followed by near-total shutdowns with 345 cancellations on August 16 and 352 on August 17, before reaching 291 cancellations today.

International operations followed a similar trajectory: after minimal cancellations earlier in the week, 108 flights were cancelled on August 15, escalating to 373 on both August 16 and 17, with 287 more cancellations today.

In total, 1,153 domestic flights and 1,165 international flights have been cancelled out of 2,817 and 2,889 scheduled respectively, underscoring the severity and breadth of the operational disruption.

August 19, 9 AM EST

As of Tuesday morning, AC has cancelled a total of 533 flights, including 280 domestic and 253 international services. The disruption spans several days, with the heaviest cancellations occurring between August 15 and 19. 

On the domestic side, cancellations escalated from 15–18 daily earlier in the week to 91 on August 15, before surging to near-total shutdowns with 345 cancellations on August 16, 352 on August 17, and 353 on August 18. Although operations partially recovered on August 20, with 55 cancellations, the cumulative domestic toll has reached 1,509 flights out of 2,818 scheduled.

International operations followed a similar pattern: only a handful of cancellations occurred on August 13 and 14, but the number jumped to 108 on August 15 and peaked with 373, 372, and 370 cancellations between August 16 and 18. 

On August 19, 253 international flights were cancelled, followed by 119 on August 20. Overall, 1,606 international flights have been cancelled out of 2,895 scheduled.

5 PM EST

Air Canada reported 539 total cancellations today, including 282 domestic and 257 international flights, with no additional cancellations since the last update.

Looking ahead, tomorrow’s schedule reflects a slight increase in disruptions, with eight more domestic and four more international cancellations added since the previous report. Cancellations remain heavily concentrated between August 15 and 19, when nearly all scheduled flights were grounded.

To date, domestic operations have seen 1,542 cancellations out of 2,818 scheduled flights, while international operations recorded 1,617 cancellations out of 2,895 flights. The airline will provide its next update tomorrow morning.

August 20, 9 AM EST

As of Wednesday morning, AC has cancelled 223 flights, consisting of 87 domestic and 136 international services. While operations remain heavily affected, there are signs of gradual recovery compared to earlier in the week.

On the domestic side, cancellations had peaked between August 16 and 18, with totals of 345, 352, and 353 flights scrubbed on consecutive days. August 19 still saw a high of 282 cancellations, but this dropped to 87 on August 20 and further down to just 10 by August 21.

In total, 1,538 domestic flights have been cancelled out of 2,820 scheduled. International operations have followed a similar trajectory: after major disruption with 373, 372, and 369 cancellations between August 16 and 18, cancellations eased to 257 on August 19, 136 on August 20, and only 16 on August 21.

Altogether, 1,635 international flights have been cancelled out of 2,901 scheduled. AC continues to monitor the situation closely and will issue another update later in the day as recovery efforts progress.