Airline says flights to gradually return starting Tuesday night but expects some flights to still be cancelled

A tentative agreement has been reached to end the contract dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants, both the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced Tuesday.

CUPE, which represents more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, said the two sides struck a deal early Tuesday morning after nine hours of talks with the assistance of the chief mediator appointed by the federal government.

The tentative deal will be presented to the union's membership, which will have an opportunity to ratify it.

CBC News has learned the tentative deal secures Air Canada flight attendants at least 60 minutes of ground pay, for their time before each flight, at a rate of 50 per cent of a flight attendant's hourly rate, with that rate increasing five per cent each year.

The airline is also proposing immediate pay increases of 12 per cent for flight attendants with five years or less of service with Air Canada, and eight per cent for those who have worked at the airline longer than that. Salaries would increase three per cent in the second year, 2.5 per cent in the third year and 2.75 per cent in the fourth year.

CBC News has learned that the only thing that the flight attendants will vote on are the proposed salary increases.

Earlier Tuesday, the union gave few details on the agreement but said it guarantees ground pay for its members.

"Unpaid work is over. We have reclaimed our voice and our power," the union said in a statement provided to CBC News.

CUPE also advised its members to "fully co-operate with resumption of operations."

In an interview on CBC News Network, Air Canada's executive vice-president, Mark Nasr, confirmed the addition of ground pay for flight attendants.

"[Ground pay] absolutely should be in there, and we're so happy that we finally reached this industry-leading deal that allows our flight attendants to be compensated for the important work ... that they perform on the ground," Nasr said.

The airline was to gradually restart its operations on Tuesday, with the first of its mainline aircraft resuming takeoffs at about 4 p.m. ET. Some initial flights began leaving Toronto Pearson International Airport, with more scheduled to follow, through into the evening.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday he was "relieved" by news of a deal.

"It is my hope that this will ensure flight attendants are compensated fairly at all times, while ending disruption for hundreds of thousands of Canadian families, workers, and visitors to Canada," he wrote on X.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu also said in a statement she was glad the two sides could work out a deal on their own.

"I am relieved that the parties agreed to meet together last night," she said.

Hajdu had ordered the airline and CUPE to take part in binding arbitration just hours after the strike began on Saturday, although the union defied the order to return to work.

Labour lawyers and experts said the addition of ground pay is a big win for flight attendants, both with Air Canada and in the broader industry.

Ground pay refers to compensation for work performed while planes are on the ground, and flight attendants historically haven't been paid for time spent loading and unloading passengers, or when flights are cancelled or delayed.

Not compensating for this type of work is a common practice in the industry, but some airlines have begun to pay flight attendants for this time in recent years.

Nasr said ground pay had been part of Air Canada's proposed deal for workers for months.

'Flight attendants will be compensated' for ground time, Air Canada exec says

Sundeep Gokhale, a labour lawyer and partner at Toronto firm Sherrard Kuzz LLP, told CBC News Network that the addition of ground pay is a big deal for the entire industry.

"It is a great move for flight attendants," Gokhale said, "because it will set a precedent that at least some of that [ground] work will be covered."

Steven Tufts, an associate professor and labour geographer at York University in Toronto, said the victory makes it a "bright day" for labour movements in Canada.

In recent years, Tufts said, more airline passengers have opted for carry-on bags as opposed to checked baggage, which increases boarding time. As a result, delays are more common, leading to more hours going unpaid.

"This increasing ... workload is something that just hit a wall. And I think that flight attendants said, 'We're losing too much unpaid time and we need to change this,'" he said. 

WestJet's collective agreement with its flight attendants is set to expire later this year, and Tufts said Tuesday's agreement all but guarantees ground pay for them as well.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, the union representing WestJet flight attendants said it's watching developments with Air Canada closely, specifically on the issue of ground pay, as change on that front "would represent a needed shift in the industry."

Nasr said the airline's focus is now on getting planes back in the sky.

"We are profoundly sorry for the impact that this disruption has had on all of our customers," he said. 

Michael Rousseau, the airline's president and chief executive officer, advised customers to be patient as full restoration of service "may require a week or more."

Air Canada cancellations cost frustrated passengers thousands

During the transition to full resumption of service, the airline says it expects that some flights will still be cancelled. Rousseau said the airline will offer options to customers in such a scenario, including a full refund, a credit for future travel and, if space allows, rebooking on other airlines.

Toronto's Pearson airport advised passengers to check their flight status before travelling to terminals and said it has deployed additional staff to assist passengers and support the startup operations.

Air Canada operates about 700 flights daily. The airline had estimated on Monday that 500,000 customers would be affected by flight cancellations.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Monday afternoon, Air Canada had called off at least 1,219 domestic flights and 1,339 international flights since last Thursday, when the carrier began gradually suspending its operations ahead of the strike and lockout.

In Toronto, Maxim Vidal and his family were among passengers awaiting the chance to get to where they needed to go.

Their flight to Paris from Toronto was cancelled, and Vidal said they haven't heard yet from the airline about when they'll be rebooked.

"We have a life in France, and we have to go back to work," he said. "It's going to be complicated a little bit if we don't have a flight for tomorrow."

Flight attendants still need to ratify the tentative deal before the contract dispute is officially over. That means if they vote against it, the two sides will have to negotiate again, and it's possible workers could head back to the picket line.