Air Canada flight attendants have ended their strike over wages and unpaid ground work after reaching a “tentative agreement” with the airline, the union announced Tuesday.
The walkout, which began shortly after midnight on Saturday, involved roughly 10,000 flight attendants and led to cancellations affecting about half a million passengers.
Despite an order from a regulatory tribunal to return to work on Sunday, the union initially refused, forcing Air Canada to halt plans for a partial service restoration.
After returning to negotiations late Monday, the union confirmed it had reached a potential deal with the airline, which will now be presented to members for approval.
“The Strike has ended. We have a tentative agreement we will bring forward to you,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) Air Canada branch posted on Facebook Tuesday.
“We are required to advise our membership that we must fully cooperate with resumption of operations,” the statement added.
Air Canada said it would “gradually restart its operations” following the “mediated agreement” with CUPE.
The airline noted that flights would begin again Tuesday evening, though full service may take seven to 10 days to resume.
“Restarting a major carrier like Air Canada is a complex undertaking. Full restoration may require a week or more, so we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding over the coming days,” Air Canada president Michael Rousseau said.
