Air Canada executives to return bonuses after government aid outcry

Top executives at Air Canada will return their bonuses and share awards, the carrier said on Sunday, in response to "public disappointment" over executive compensation at the airline, which received government aid in April. Air Canada said CE, executive vice presidents and its former CE, who retired in February, would return the bonuses and share appreciation units "in order to help address this unintended consequence." The carrier said it gave out C$10m in bonuses, adding that much of it went to middle managers. In April, Air Canada, struggling with a collapse in traffic because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reached a deal on a long-awaited aid package with the federal government that would allow it to access up to C$5.9b in funds. About the same time, the airline made the bonus awards to top staff. Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland called the bonuses "inappropriate" last week.<br/>