To all Flight Attendants around the world, and especially to the 10,600 Flight Attendants we proudly represent at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge: Happy International Flight Attendant Day!
Each year on May 31st, aviation workers across the globe come together to recognize a profession built on compassion, resilience, professionalism, courage, and an unwavering commitment to caring for others. Today is an opportunity to honour the extraordinary work Flight Attendants perform every single day, often quietly, and too often without full recognition of the immense responsibilities carried on their shoulders.
Flight Attendants are far more than service professionals.
You are aviation’s first responders.
You are highly trained safety professionals prepared to respond to emergencies at 35,000 + feet. You are calm during turbulence, reassurance during fear, and leadership during moments of crisis. You respond to medical emergencies, evacuations, onboard conflicts, security incidents, and increasingly challenging passenger interactions with professionalism, skill, and humanity.
While the travelling public may see only a portion of what Flight Attendants do, they do not always see the long duty days, fatigue, disrupted sleep cycles, missed family milestones, physical wear and tear, time zone changes, emotional labour, and constant responsibility that come with caring for hundreds of people in a confined environment high above the earth.
This work demands strength.
It demands sacrifice.
And it deserves respect.
Here in Canada, Flight Attendants continue to fight for fairness, dignity, and respect in the workplace. During our recent negotiations, we exercised our legal right to strike which is a fundamental part of meaningful collective bargaining. That right was interrupted through government intervention under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, something we continue to challenge because we firmly believe that workers must have a genuine and effective voice at the bargaining table.
The right to strike is not simply about withholding labour. It is about balance. It is about ensuring that working people can stand alongside corporations with enormous financial resources and power on more equal footing. Across Canada and around the world, workers and labour organizations continue to defend these principles because the right to strike is a fundamental democratic right.
We are proud that Flight Attendants in Canada are part of that movement.
Today is also a reminder that this profession changes lives. Across the world, there are countless stories of Flight Attendants performing heroic acts, responding to emergencies, and showing extraordinary courage under pressure. These are not rare exceptions. They are reflections of who Flight Attendants are every single day.
To every member:
Be proud of the work you do.
Be proud of the professionalism you bring to every flight.
Be proud of the strength and resilience it takes to do this work day after day.
And above all, remember this:
What you do matters.
Govern yourselves accordingly, in solidarity,
Your ACCEX