Air Canada Flights Will Slowly Resume—After Tentative Deal Reached To End Strike

Topline

Air Canada and its unionized flight attendants reached a tentative contract deal early Tuesday, which could end a strike that forced the airline to suspend flights impacting half a million passengers.

Key Facts

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the 10,000 striking workers, issued a statement on Facebook saying their mediation with Air Canada was complete and the “strike has ended.”

The union said its negotiators have reached a tentative agreement with the airline, which will be presented to the members, who will need to ratify it.

Air Canada acknowledged the tentative deal and noted a key condition is that the union agreed to have all the striking flight attendants “immediately return to work.”

The union urged the striking flight attendants to “fully cooperate with resumption of operations.”

The airline said it will “gradually restart its operations” starting Tuesday evening.

However, the carrier’s President and CEO, Michael Rousseau, said resumption is a complex process and the complete restoration of all flights may take up to a week.

What Do We Know About Air Canada’s Flight Schedule?

The airline said the first resumed flights are scheduled to depart on Tuesday evening, but the “return to full, regular service may require seven-to-ten days as aircraft and crew are out of position.” Due to this, some flights may be cancelled over the week, “until the schedule is stabilized.” The carrier said only customers with confirmed bookings whose flights are shown as operational should go to the airport. For others, Air Canada said it will offer a full refund or rebook them on other airlines.

Big Number

437. That is the total number of Air Canada flights canceled so far Tuesday, according to FlightAware data—73% of the carrier’s scheduled flights for the day. On Monday, 602 Air Canada flights were canceled as the carrier’s operations were suspended.

What To Watch For

The union and Air Canada’s statements did not offer any details about the tentative deal. In its Facebook post, CUPE said: “We will have zoom road shows and a ratification for this contract. Your right to vote on your wages was preserved and we will go over this on the zoom presentation.”

Further Reaidng

Air Canada Suspends All Flights—Here’s What To Know About Flight Attendant Strike (Forbes)

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/08/19/air-canada-flights-will-slowly-resume-after-tentative-deal-reached-to-end-strike/