WestJet and its pilots have reached a last-minute deal, averting a strike ahead of the May long weekend, according to the union.A news release from the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) late Thursday night said members voted to approve an agreement-in-principle with WestJet management, following more than nine months of negotiations on a new pilot contract.Just after 12 a.m.
MT, the Calgary-based airline confirmed the two sides had reached a tentative agreement on the second collective bargaining agreement between the organizations.Some 1,800 pilots at WestJet and Swoop had been poised to walk off the job overnight Friday after the ALPA served a strike notice Monday.Already the airline had cancelled hundreds of flights in anticipation of its fleet being grounded.The shutdown affected dozens of routes within Canada and to the U.S.