Porter to close crew bases in Halifax & Thunder Bay

Porter Airlines will shut down its crew bases in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, in May as part of a “transformative growth plan,” CBC News reports.

CUPE Local 4061, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) branch representing more than 1,200 Porter cabin crew members, says around 60 cabin crew will be impacted in the two cities.

Among those affected are 26 flight attendants based in Thunder Bay, according to CUPE Local 4061 president Sarah Seal.

According to Porter, the closure in Thunder Bay will impact 66 crew members, not all of whom belong to CUPE.

Porter’s pilots in Thunder Bay, Halifax and Vancouver are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Local Executive Council 272.

In a Jan. 14 statement posted online, the union informed members about the upcoming shutdowns in Thunder Bay and Halifax, calling the move “deeply disappointing” and saying its master executive council was not involved in the decision.

"Halifax and Thunder Bay have been important parts of our Porter network for years and our workforce now has deep roots in both communities and the people we serve," said Sarah Seal, president of CUPE 4061, in a statement.” "This is such disappointing news for our members and their families in these communities who now face an uncertain future."

Porter says its crew bases outside Toronto were originally created to improve operational flexibility, but its network has since evolved.

“The current regional network has hubs in Toronto and Ottawa. After considering various scenarios, we found that consolidating crew bases in these two cities is the most effective way to organize crew and operate flights,” reads a statement from Porter that was shared with CBC. “We continue to have 18 team members at the Thunder Bay maintenance facility.”

According to CUPE, Porter has indicated that they have positions for all impacted members at Toronto City Airport or Ottawa International Airport.

“Cabin crew members in the two cities will now have a difficult decision to make: either pay to commute to and from work, up to six hours each day, move across the province or country to transfer bases, choose a voluntary temporary layoff for up to 120 months, or choose the early retirement program,” a statement from CUPE reads.

“As of May 7, cabin crew members will no longer have positions at Halifax and Thunder Bay bases.”

CUPE Local 4061 is pushing Porter to revise its commuting policy. Porter, meanwhile, expects most employees to remain in their current communities even if their work base changes.

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