WestJet, pilots avert strike with 11th-hour deal, but more than 100 Friday flights cancelled

WestJet and its pilots' union reached a last-minute deal late Thursday, averting a strike ahead of the May long weekend, but hundreds of the carrier's Friday flights were cancelled. WestJet subsidiary Swoop had cancelled 31 flights, or 67 per cent of those scheduled for Friday. The airline had already cancelled about one-third of its flight load Thursday as negotiations with its pilots' union went down to the wire. WestJet pilots also wanted better scheduling. © Nav Rahi/CBC WestJet pilots picket outside Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday.