Air Canada to resume operations after reaching a deal with striking flight attendants 

With the deal, the first strike by Air Canada's cabin crew members in 40 years came to an end.

Roughly 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday midnight, leading to the cancellation of multiple scheduled flights and impacting the travel plans of a large number of people worldwide.

Speaking on the agreement reached, the  Canadian Union of Public Employees' (CUPE) Air Canada branch said in a statement: "Flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge have reached a tentative agreement, achieving transformational change for our industry after a historic fight to affirm our Charter rights. Unpaid work is over."

"We have reclaimed our voice and our power. When our rights were taken away, we stood strong, we fought back — and we secured a tentative agreement that our members can vote on," CUPE said.

Air Canada said it will gradually restart its operations today after reaching a mediated agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) through a process overseen by a mutually agreed-to mediator, William Kaplan.

“The suspension of our service is extremely difficult for our customers. 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. I assure them that everyone at Air Canada is doing everything possible to enable them to travel soon,” said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada.

The first flights are scheduled for the evening of August 19, but Air Canada advised customers that the airline’s return to full, regular service may require seven-to-ten days as aircraft and crew are out of position.

During this process, some flights will be cancelled over the next seven to ten days until the schedule is stabilised, Air Canada said.

In the statement, Air Canada further said: "Only customers with confirmed bookings whose flights are shown as operating should go to the airport (check your flight’s status on aircanada.com or on the Air Canada mobile app before going to the airport)."

"Air Canada will offer options to those with cancelled flights, including obtaining a full refund or receiving a credit for future travel. The carrier will also offer to rebook customers on other airlines, although capacity is currently limited due to the peak summer travel season," it said.