TORONTO (AP) \u2014 Air Canada said Tuesday it will gradually restart operations after reaching an agreement with the union for 10,000 flight attendants to end a strike that disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of travelers. <\/p>\n
The union first announced the agreement early Tuesday after Air Canada<\/a> and the union resumed talks late Monday for the first time since the strike began<\/a> over the weekend. The strike is affecting about 130,000 travelers a day at the peak of the summer travel season.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s largest airline said flights will start resuming Tuesday evening. Flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday after turning down the airline\u2019s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.<\/p>\n The union said the agreement will guarantee members pay for work performed while planes are on the ground, resolving one of the major issues that drove the strike.<\/p>\n \u201cUnpaid work is over. We have reclaimed our voice and our power,\u201d the union said in a statement. \u201cWhen our rights were taken away, we stood strong, we fought back \u2014 and we secured a tentative agreement that our members can vote on.\u201d<\/p>\n Chief executive Michael Rousseau said restarting a major carrier is a complex undertaking and said regular service may require seven to 10 days. Some flights will be canceled until the schedule is stabilized. <\/p>\n \u201cFull restoration may require a week or more, so we ask for our customers\u2019 patience and understanding over the coming days,\u201d Rousseau said in a statement. <\/p>\n The two sides reached the deal with the help of a mediator early Tuesday morning. The airline said mediation discussions \u201cwere begun on the basis that the union commit to have the airline\u2019s 10,000 flight attendants immediately return to work.\u201d Air Canada declined to comment further on the agreement until the ratification process is complete. It noted a strike or lockout is not possible during this time. <\/p>\n Earlier, Air Canada said rolling cancellations would now extend through Tuesday afternoon after the union defied a second return-to-work order. <\/p>\n