REGINA – It is back to business as usual at Regina International Airport in the wake of this past weekend’s flight attendants’ strike at WestJet.
Regina Airport Authority CEO James Bogusz said that flights are back to running normally at the airport following a disruptive weekend of WestJet flight cancellations.
“For all intents and purposes, it's now business as usual,” Bogusz told SaskToday.
“However, on the weekend, we saw at least 2,500-plus passengers that would have either arrived or departed from YQR. We had about 20 cancellations in total, and this represents 10 departures and 10 arrivals on large jets. So very, very impactful.”
The timing of the labour disruption could not have come at a more inconvenient time for passengers. Bogusz noted July and August are among the busiest months for the airport all year in terms of passenger traffic, along with the January-February winter season.
“At this time of year, it is peak travel season,” Bogusz said. “People are enjoying flights across Canada, obviously going to the United States, but it's a very busy time, so very challenging. But we're glad to see that things are effectively back in order and we're seeing normal flight activity again here at YQR.“
He gave cudos to WestJet for getting back to business as quickly as possible.
“They really ramped up quite quickly. You know, credit to the WestJet team for focusing on recovery to be really back to normal.”
Bogusz said the airport will be watching closely as the union representing WestJet flight attendants will be voting on ratification.
He also did acknowledge there are still news reports of “some niggling issues with people trying to either get back home or make their original location or itinerary.”
As for advice for travellers who may still need to deal with WestJet on various issues relating to the strike, such as rebooking and so on, Bogusz said generally in cases of flight cancellations or a delay to your itinerary, WestJet would send an email to the itinerary information provided.
“So presumably, they will offer you various options on how you can get to where you need to go. And I think that's a good reminder, you know, when you do book a flight with any airline, not just WestJet, just making sure you have up-to-date contact information. So in the event there's a weather delay or, in this case, a labour disruption or anything that might impact your flight, you want to make sure the airline can get a hold of you easily, often using their online tools. So quite often, you can approve or accept, or if you aren't happy with it, of course, that is the quickest way to get service.”
This is only the latest instance of labour disputes impacting airline service across Canada. In recent years Regina airport was impacted by a previous WestJet mechanics strike in 2024 and also by an Air Canada flight attendants strike last year.
When asked if this will be the “new normal” for passengers and whether they will have to take into account whether airlines will be going out on strike, Bogusz did not think that while be the case.
“I wouldn't say it's a new normal,” said Bogusz. “What I would say is it is like any business. These situations can occur. It just happens to be very impactful to many Canadians all at once.”
Bogusz said that at the end of the day, “these airlines are running their own business. And what we do at the airport is ensure we communicate with the public if we're aware of anything coming down the pipeline to just create some awareness and to help the airline provide their messaging out so passengers know what to expect.”
