Air Canada Flight Attendants Reach Tentative Agreement, Ending Strike
A five-day strike by Air Canada flight attendants has come to an end as their union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), reached a tentative agreement with the airline on Tuesday. The dispute, centered on wages and unpaid ground work, had resulted in the cancellation of flights affecting nearly half a million people.
Approximately 10,000 flight attendants had walked off the job on Saturday, prompting the airline to ground a significant portion of its fleet. The union had previously defied a regulatory tribunal’s order to return to work on Sunday, leading Air Canada to roll back its plans for a partial restoration of services.
However, following the resumption of talks on Monday, CUPE announced that a potential deal had been reached, which would be put to its members for consideration. “The Strike has ended. We have a tentative agreement we will bring forward to you,” the CUPE Air Canada branch stated on Facebook.
Air Canada has also confirmed that it will gradually restart its operations, with the first flights scheduled to depart on Tuesday evening. Nevertheless, the airline warned that it may take up to 10 days for full services to resume.
“Restarting a major carrier like Air Canada is a complex undertaking,” said Michael Rousseau, the airline’s president. “Full restoration may require a week or more, so we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding over the coming days.”
The agreement remains subject to ratification by CUPE members, but for now, the tentative deal has brought an end to the strike, restoring some normalcy to Air Canada’s operations and alleviating the travel disruptions faced by thousands of passengers.
