Updated August 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM EDT

TORONTO — Air Canada said it will gradually restart operations after reaching an agreement early on Tuesday with the union for 10,000 flight attendants to end a strike that disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of travelers.

The agreement came after Canada's biggest airline and the union resumed talks late Monday for the first time since the strike began over the weekend, affecting about 130,000 travelers a day at the peak of the summer travel season. Air Canada said flights will start resuming at 4 p.m. ET.

Flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday after turning down the airline's request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.

The union

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