Air Canada and its flight attendants union have reached a mediated settlement. The airline announced it will gradually resume flights this afternoon.
After a wild couple days that saw the Air Canada flight attendants union defy a government order to go back to work, the two sides renewed negotiations late on Monday night, as reported by Open Jaw. A mediated settlement was announced early Tuesday morning, 19AUG.
“The suspension of our service is extremely difficult for our customers," said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada. "We deeply regret and apologize for the impact on them of this labour disruption.
"Our priority now is to get them moving as quickly as possible. Restarting a major carrier like Air Canada is a complex undertaking. Full restoration may require a week or more, so we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding over the coming days."
As of 7:30 am EDT, Flight Aware was showing 539 cancelled Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights for Tuesday.
The agreement still has to be ratified by the membership. But this first step will get the airline flying again.
"The union has just completed mediation with Air Canada/Air Canada Rouge," the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees said on its website. "The strike has ended.
"Unpaid work is over," the union said. "We have a tentative agreement we will bring forward to you."
CUPE said it's required to advise its membership "that we must fully cooperate with resumption of operations."
