Air Transat pilots vote to strike

Air Transat pilots have voted 97 per cent in favour of a strike if a new agreement is not reached this month.

According to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), 96 per cent of the 524 eligible pilots took part in the ballot, with 97 percent voting in support of a withdrawal of services, if required. The authorization comes after a year of negotiations for a new pilot contract and follows the expiration of the current collective agreement on April 30, 2015.

The conciliation period ends on Feb. 7, 2016, and cannot be extended without the consent of both ALPA and Air Transat A.T. Once conciliation ends, a 21-day cooling-off period begins, at which point both parties will gain the right to strike or lockout, said ALPA.