Strike over: Air Canada flights resume after attendants, airline reach tentative agreement

Air Canada flights are back in the air after attendants and the airline reached a tentative agreement earlier Tuesday.

The union representing Air Canada’s 10,000 flight attendants confirmed its members would return to work, ending a disruptive strike that grounded thousands of flights and stranded passengers across the country.

“The strike has ended. We have a tentative agreement we will bring forward to you,” read the union’s statement. “We are required to advise our membership that we must fully cooperate with the resumption of operations.”

Shortly after 4 p.m., flights began departing from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, signaling the resumption of flights.

The flight attendants’ union says both sides were negotiating from 7 p.m. ET on Monday to just after 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

“Mediation discussions were begun on the basis that the union commit to having the airline’s 10,000 flight attendants immediately return to work, allowing the airline to resume the operations of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, which have been grounded since Aug. 16,” Air Canada said in a statement.

Flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday after turning down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration. The airline noted that the first flights are scheduled for Tuesday evening (Aug. 19), but customers are advised that the airline’s return to full, regular service “may require seven to ten days as aircraft and crew are out of position.

“During this process, some flights will be cancelled over the next seven to ten days until the schedule is stabilized,” Air Canada said, adding that only customers with confirmed bookings whose flights are shown as operating should go to the airport.

“Air Canada will offer options to those with cancelled flights, including obtaining a full refund or receiving a credit for future travel. The carrier will also offer to rebook customers on other airlines, although capacity is currently limited due to the peak summer travel season.”

Agreement comes after days of stalled negotiations

One of the key complaints from the union representing Air Canada flight attendants was that workers are not paid for duties performed when planes are not in the air.

Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. The airline estimated Monday that some 500,000 customers’ flights have been cancelled since the strike began.

Earlier Monday, CUPE national president Mark Hancock said union leaders were all-in on pushing for a negotiated deal.

“If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it. We’re looking for a solution here; our members want a solution here. But that solution has to be found at a bargaining table.”

The workers initially defied an order by the Canada Industrial Relations Board to return to work on Sunday, leading the board to rule that the strike is unlawful.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said Monday that the federal government would be launching a probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector, calling the claims deeply disturbing.

With files from The Canadian Press