Air Canada to fly again as cabin crew call off strike

MONTREAL/TORONTO — Air Canada's unionized flight attendants reached an agreement with the country's largest carrier on Tuesday, ending the first strike by its cabin crew in 40 years that had upended travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

The strike that lasted nearly four days had led the airline that serves about 130,000 people daily to withdraw its third quarter and full-year earnings guidance.

The carrier said it would gradually resume operations and a full restoration may require a week or more, while the union said it has completed mediation with the airline and its low-cost affiliate Air Canada Rouge.

Air Canada said some flights will be canceled over the next seven to ten days until the schedule is stabilized and that customers with canceled flights can choose between a refund, travel credit, or rebooking on another airline.

The flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday after contract talks with the carrier failed. They had sought pay for tasks such as boarding passengers. While details of the negotiations were not immediately released, the union said the unpaid work was over.

The CUPE, which represents Air Canada's 10,400 flight attendants, wanted to make gains on unpaid work that go beyond recent advances secured by their counterparts at US carriers.

In a rare act of defiance, the union remained on strike even after the Canada Industrial Relations Board declared its action unlawful.

Their refusal to follow a federal labor board order for the flight attendants to return to work had created a three-way standoff between the company, workers and the government.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu had urged both sides to consider government mediation and raised pressure on Air Canada on Monday, promising to investigate allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector.

Agencies Via Xinhua