The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flight attendants flying with Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, is calling on the federal government to administer rapid testing at airports.
CUPE says COVID-19 has decimated the industry and without federal action, thousands of jobs will permanently disappear. The union says a bailout alone won’t help the industry, passenger testing is need to rebuild confidence and make flying safer.
"The Canadian economy relies on a strong airline industry, and it's key to keeping communities and families connected," said Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada Component of CUPE. "People need to travel for work and families want to reunite, but they also want to know it's safe to fly. Approving rapid 15-minute tests at the airport will help address both these problems and stimulate travel."
"We don't know how long we'll be living with the coronavirus," said Lesosky. "But what we do know is that without rapid testing, it's possible our industry and many others won't ever recover."