TORONTO (AP) – Air Canada said Tuesday it will gradually resume operations after 10,000 flight attendants reached an agreement to end the strike.
The union first announced its contract early on Tuesday. Air Canada The union then resumed consultations late Monday. For the first time since the strike began On the weekend. The strike affects approximately 130,000 travelers a day during the peak summer travel season.
Canada’s largest airline said flights will begin reopening Tuesday evening.
The union said the agreement would ensure members’ payments for work done while the plane was on the ground and resolve one of the major issues that encouraged the strike.
“The unpaid work is over. We have regained our voice and strength,” the union said in a statement. “When our rights were taken away, we stood strong and we fought back. We secured a tentative agreement that our members could vote.”
Chief Executive Michael Rousseau said rebooting major airlines is a complicated business, and that regular service could require seven to ten days. Some flights will be cancelled until the schedule is stable.
“We will seek the patience and understanding of our customers over the next few days as a full restoration may take more than a week,” Rousseau said in a statement.
The airline said the mediation debate “started on the basis of the union’s commitment to bring the airline’s 10,000 flight attendants back to work soon.” Air Canada declined to comment further on the agreement until the ratification process was completed. During this time, he pointed out that strikes and lockouts were not possible.
The agreement follows the union’s declaration that flight attendants will not return to work. Strikes have been declared illegal.
Previously, Air Canada said rolling cancellations will be extended until Tuesday afternoon after the union refused to return from its second job.
Canada’s Labor and Management Committee declared the strike illegal on Monday and ordered flight attendants to return to work. However, the union said it was against the order. Union leaders also filed for binding arbitration and ignored weekend orders to end the strike by Sunday afternoon.
The Board is an independent administrative court that interprets and applies Canadian labor laws. The government ordered the board to intervene.
Labour leaders opposed the Canadian government’s repeated use of laws that block workers’ rights to attack and enforce arbitration. This has taken a step forward in recent years by the government with workers in ports, railways and other countries.
“The right to vote for your wages was preserved,” the union said in a post on its website.
Air Canada operates approximately 700 flights per day. The airline estimated Monday that 500,000 customers will be affected by flight cancellations.
Air Canada has halted at least 1,219 domestic and 1,339 international flights last Thursday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium., on Monday afternoon, Air Canada said last Thursday that it had halted at least 1,219 domestic flights and 1,339 international flights since carriers gradually began to halt prior to the strikes and lockouts that began early Saturday.
Canada’s largest Toronto Pearson International Airport said it will deploy additional staff to support passengers and support startup operations.
According to Air Canada, passengers affected by the flight are eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s website or on the mobile app.
