Air Canada Deems Downtown Winnipeg Unsafe

Flight crews forced to stay in hotels near Winnipeg airport, which is torture in itself, frankly.

Air Canada has decided that its pilots and flight attendants can no longer stay in hotels in downtown Winnipeg due to the "questionable" safety of the area. The unions representing the flight crews, however, say that forcing the staff to stay in hotels out near the airport is a breach of their contract, which entitles crews to stay downtown so they can be close to nightlife, restaurants, and other such amenities. Air Canada had released a memo late last month that treated downtown Winnipeg like some sort of warzone, citing masses of "displaced" peoples from elsewhere in Manitoba who were in the provincial capital due to flooding back home. The air carrier says that the influx of people has led to an increase of intoxication and violent crime, making the core unsafe for their staff. These people might also just be Jets fans who have been too drunk to leave the grounds of the MTS Centre since the team came back in June. Either way, the unions and the city aren't too pleased by this characterization of the Peg, with the city suggesting cost-cutting at the airline might be the reason for the hotel switch.