Air Canada Boeing 787-9. Photo: Air Canada
Air Canada has temporarily put new bookings for certain commodities on hold and stated any existing bookings may be delayed or cancelled.
The cargo division of the Canadian airline announced the measures to maintain control over the cargo business after it previously declared a phased wind down of most of the airline's operations in reaction to an employee strike.
With plans for the wind down to be completed over a three-day period, Air Canada Cargo said: "All shipments booked on a freighter flight or with a freighter connection can continue to move as scheduled, provided all legs have a confirmation."
However, it stated that no new bookings of animals and horses will be taken until further notice, while for speciality cargo products, including Absolute, Pharmacair, Secure, Expedair, e-commerce and dangerous goods, no new bookings were taken after 13 August, until further notice, plus all shipments had to be accepted for carriage by this date.
AC Fresh bookings will be allowed to and from London (LHR), Spain (BCN, MAD), Amsterdam (AMS), Brussels (BRU), Frankfurt (FRA), Paris (CDG), and existing freighter stations.
For general cargo and mail, the standard 14-day booking window continues to apply, with standard acceptance times.
Air Canada's passenger and cargo operations were previously under threat after 15 months of discussions between Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) trade union over pay and conditions for pilots. In September 2024, a four-year collective agreement was struck with ALPA.
