Muhammad Amanullah | August 14, 2026
The True Post — Canadian airline WestJet has agreed to pay C$4.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by female flight attendants alleging sexual harassment and failures by the airline to provide a safe and harassment-free workplace.
The Supreme Court of British Columbia approved the settlement on August 10. The class includes 3,452 current and former female WestJet flight attendants, bringing a legal battle that has continued for nearly a decade closer to an end.
Lawsuit Began in 2016
The class action was launched in April 2016 by former WestJet flight attendant Mandalena Louise.
Louise alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a WestJet pilot during a stay in Hawaii in 2010.
According to court documents, the same pilot had also been accused of sexually assaulting another flight attendant in 2008. Louise said she reported the alleged incident to WestJet, but the pilot continued working for the airline.
She also reported the incident to police on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Louise eventually pursued a class action after learning that other flight attendants had allegedly experienced harassment and related misconduct.
Allegations of Retaliation After Termination
Louise was terminated by WestJet in 2016.
Court documents filed by the airline described the reason for her termination as serious insubordination. Louise and her legal team, however, argued that she had faced retaliation after demanding accountability from the company over the matter.
The class action alleged that WestJet’s workplace policies promised employees a harassment-free environment, but that the company failed to properly address complaints involving harassment and sexual misconduct or take effective steps to prevent such incidents.
3,452 Women Included in Settlement
The settlement covers current and former female flight attendants who worked for WestJet’s main airline operation between April 4, 2014, and February 28, 2021, and who did not opt out of the class action.
The C$4.5 million settlement fund will first be used to cover court-approved legal fees, other legal expenses, taxes, administration costs and an amount approved for the representative plaintiff.
The remaining funds will then be distributed among eligible class members.
Based on current estimates, each eligible flight attendant who submits a valid claim could receive approximately C$470, although the final amount could change depending on administrative costs and the number of valid claims.
WestJet Does Not Admit Wrongdoing
An important condition of the settlement is that WestJet does not admit liability or wrongdoing.
The allegations made in the lawsuit were also never ultimately determined through a full trial and final judgment.
In a response to the settlement, WestJet said it was pleased that the matter had been resolved by mutual agreement. The airline said it would continue focusing on employee safety and well-being while strengthening its operations and training programs.
Independent Workplace Review Ordered
One of the key elements of the settlement is a commitment by WestJet to hire an independent third party to review workplace harassment within the company.
The review will examine the extent of harassment in the workplace, how frequently incidents go unreported and why employees may choose not to report them.
It will also examine existing complaint and response procedures and consider how those systems could be made more effective.
However, some demands made during the lawsuit were not included in the final settlement.
Those demands included mandatory sexual-harassment prevention training for pilots, an admission of wrongdoing by WestJet and an acknowledgment that the company had breached employees’ contracts.
Representative Plaintiff Expresses Disappointment
Louise expressed disappointment with the settlement, particularly regarding the amount of compensation and the lack of stronger accountability measures.
She said that after years of litigation and increasing legal costs, she had been advised that the settlement represented the amount that could realistically be obtained under the circumstances.
Some other women involved in the case had also previously objected to the proposed settlement and asked the court not to approve it.
Their concerns included the relatively small amount expected to be paid to individual claimants and the absence of an explicit admission of wrongdoing by WestJet.
Claims Process Will Begin Soon
Following the court’s approval of the settlement, preparations are now underway for the formal claims process.
According to court records, Deloitte LLP will administer the claims process.
An online claims portal and the deadline for submitting claims will be announced once the claims process officially begins.
The settlement does not establish that the allegations against WestJet were proven in court. Instead, it brings the long-running class-action litigation to an agreed resolution while also introducing an independent review of workplace harassment practices at the airline.
