Air Canada is investigating an in-flight service director after antisemitic comments attributed to him appeared on social media, the National Post reported on Wednesday.
Air Canada spokesperson Sean Davidson confirmed in a written statement to the newspaper that the employee had been “removed from service" while the airline conducts a “full investigation underway." The airline did not say whether the employee's removal was with or without pay.
A Facebook account bearing the same name as the service director contained dozens of posts about the war in Gaza. In an Aug. 6 post, he wrote, “This is a Holocaust created by Jews against people who refuse to allow them to steal their land," and described Zionism as “every bit as evil" as Nazism.
In another post published in late August, he invoked an antisemitic conspiracy theory concerning Jewish control of the media, writing, “This is why we never hear the truth about Israel." His posts repeatedly characterized the situation in Gaza as a genocide carried out by Israel.
In an April post, he wrote: “The people who pull the Holocaust card or the antisemitism card, their eternal ‘victim’ card, at every opportunity, are now executing people based on them not being Jewish,"
On Jan. 27, 2025, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, he wrote that he no longer viewed or respected the day “through the same lens as I did in the past because of Israel’s actions the past 15 months."
“The fact that they are still playing the victim card in the face of genocide is revolting. I hope that some day their actions match their words," he said.
The service director told the National Post that he could not comment at this time.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents Air Canada employees, said its Air Canada Component was aware of the case. A union spokesperson told the newspaper that it “is in contact with the member, and will fulfill its legal obligations of representation during the investigation."
Air Canada said it “denounces hate speech and promotion of violence in all forms."
The investigation comes as Air Canada prepares to resume service to Israel. The airline announced Tuesday that flights to Israel are scheduled to restart on Nov. 30 after being suspended since March because of the “military situation in the Middle East."
The airline has faced controversy over employee and passenger incidents involving Israel in previous years. In 2023, Air Canada dismissed a pilot after social media posts emerged showing him attending an anti-Israel demonstration in Montreal. The pilot was wearing his uniform and holding a sign referencing Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Air Canada described the posts at the time as “unacceptable."
In 2025, a passenger traveling from Vancouver to Toronto reported that Air Canada's interactive in-flight map identified Israel as the “Palestinian territories." The image photographed by the passenger showed no borders for Judea and Samaria or Gaza. Air Canada attributed the issue to the system used to operate the interactive map.