Air Canada ends flight attendant strike; flights resume gradually, full service may take up to 10 days. Photo/X.
Air Canada announced on Tuesday that it will gradually resume operations after reaching an agreement with its union representing 10,000 flight attendants, ending a strike that disrupted travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The deal came after Canada’s largest airline and the union resumed talks late Monday, marking the first negotiation since the strike began over the weekend. At its peak during the busy summer travel season, the strike affected around 130,000 travelers daily. Air Canada confirmed flights would begin resuming at 4 p.m. ET.
Flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday after rejecting the airline’s request to enter government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to determine the terms of a new contract.
The union stated that the agreement ensures members are paid for work performed while planes remain on the ground, addressing one of the primary causes of the strike.
“Unpaid work is over. We have reclaimed our voice and our power,” the union said in a statement. “When our rights were taken away, we stood strong, we fought back – and we secured a tentative agreement that our members can vote on.”
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau highlighted the complexity of restarting a major airline and cautioned that full service could take up to 7–10 days to stabilize. Some flights may still be canceled during this period.
“Full restoration may require a week or more, so we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding over the coming days,” Rousseau said.
The airline indicated that about half of Tuesday’s scheduled flights, focusing on international outbound routes, would operate, with a ramp-up on mainline North American routes beginning Wednesday morning.
The agreement was reached early Tuesday morning with the assistance of a mediator. Air Canada noted that mediation discussions began with the expectation that the union would have all 10,000 flight attendants return to work immediately.
The airline declined further comment until the ratification process is complete but confirmed that neither a strike nor a lockout is possible during this time.
Earlier, Air Canada had warned of rolling cancellations extending through Tuesday afternoon after the union ignored a second return-to-work order.
On Monday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board declared the strike illegal and ordered flight attendants back on the job. However, the union defied this directive, as well as a weekend order to submit to binding arbitration and end the strike by Sunday afternoon.
The board, an independent administrative tribunal responsible for interpreting and applying Canada’s labor laws, was ordered to intervene by the government.
Labor leaders have criticized the Canadian government’s repeated use of legislation that strips workers of their right to strike and compels them into arbitration – a measure previously applied to ports, railways, and other sectors.
“Your right to vote on your wages was preserved,” the union said on its website.
Also Read: End of Air Canada Strikes? Flight Attendants Finalize Tentative Deal After Huge Disruptions
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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