Air Canada flight attendants reach contract agreement, ending strike

After reaching a tentative agreement with the airline, Air Canada’s flight attendants ended a three-day strike that had led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights. The union's negotiating committee stated in a post on its website that after more than nine hours of mediation talks, an agreement was reached early Tuesday morning. "The strike is over," the union said in a message to its members, "We have reached a tentative agreement that will be submitted to everyone." Air Canada also stated that it plans to gradually restore flight services, with the first flights scheduled to take off on Tuesday evening. The airline said, "Passengers can book and travel with confidence." On Saturday, flight attendants went on strike over issues related to wages and working conditions. This action disrupted transportation at airports across Canada and forced the country's largest airline to withdraw its financial outlook for the year. The union ignored the Canadian Labour Relations Board's order to return to work, increasing the stakes in the negotiations, but as both sides sought to break the deadlock, talks resumed on Monday evening. The Air Canada branch of the Public Service Alliance of Canada did not provide details of the tentative agreement, only stating that it was reached at 4:23 AM local time. The union said, "We must inform all members that we must fully cooperate with the restoration of flight operations."