Why Canadian airline strikes shut down the whole system — and how other countries avoid it

Over the August long weekend, roughly 250,000 WestJet passengers had their flights cancelled when the airline’s flight attendants walked out over pay, including compensation for ground duties performed before takeoff and after landing. Less than a year earlier, an Air Canada strike grounded the country’s largest carrier for about 60 hours. The two disputes were different in their details, but both exposed how quickly a strike at a major airline can disrupt the wider air-travel system. I’ve…