Air Canada’s unionised flight attendants have reached an agreement to end strike action, which has forced the airline to halt all operations over the past few days.
Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations had remained suspended after the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said striking flight attendants would not obey a back-to-work order issued by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and won’t back down until a fair deal has been reached for their members.
“The strike has ended. We have a tentative agreement we will bring forward to you,” CUPE said in a Facebook post.
The carrier had earlier offered a 38% increase in total compensation for flight attendants over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year, which the union deemed insufficient.
Flight attendants had sought pay for tasks such as boarding passengers, which are currently not remunerated. They are now paid for time when the plane is moving.
Toronto’s Person airport, a major hub for the airline, said that Air Canada will gradually restart its operations on August 19, after reaching an agreement with CUPE.
Air Canada halted all operations on August 16, due to the strike action by CUPE, intending to restart some Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights on August 17. However, in a statement, the carrier said those plans were cancelled after CUPE “illegally directed” its members to ignore the CIRB’s return-to-work directive. Flights were then expected to resume on August 18.
Speaking at a press conference in Toronto, CUPE national president Mark Hancock and secretary-treasurer Candace Rennick criticised the Canadian government’s intervention on the matter, saying it undermined workers’ rights and collective bargaining.
CUPE, which represents nearly 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, criticised the government’s intervention as a betrayal of workers’ rights. In a statement, CUPE national president Mark Hancock accused the government of siding with corporate interests.
As a result of the disruption, the airline has pulled its third quarter and full year 2025 guidance.