Prince George Airport Authority President and CEO Gord Duke is relieved the lengthy squabble between WestJet and the Aircraft Mechanics Union has come to an end.
Both sides reached a second tentative agreement Sunday night but it didn’t come without consequence as the airline cancelled over 800 flights where 100-thousand travelers were left in limbo.
Duke told MyPGNow.com YXS saw seven flight cancellations impacting service to Vancouver and Calgary – however, he doesn’t think it will take long for those flights to get restored.
“We anticipate that for our operations, they should be able to return fairly quickly. The X-factor will be there are a lot of folks who have connecting flights.”
When asked if the labour dispute puts a damper on the industry’s post-pandemic momentum in terms of building up its passenger numbers, Duke stated their number one priority is to take care of everyone who steps through the airport the best they can.
“Our concern is for the travelling public. The airport from our perspective is going to be open and available for the other work that we do including medivac and wildfire fighting. We as an airport authority feel poorly for the passengers affected by this.”
“There was a lot of back and forth where he had a deal and then we don’t have a deal. Really, I think it was the uncertainty that impacted folks.”
WestJet says it could take a little over a week to get scheduled flights back in the air and that further disruptions will occur in the meantime.
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