Air Canada and the Canadian Union for Public Employees (CUPE) have reached a tentative agreement, potentially ending a days-long strike by the airline’s flight attendants that disrupted travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Why it matters: The strike, which began on August 18, 2025, resulted in the cancellation of over 700 flights daily by Air Canada and its subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, causing significant delays and inconvenience for travelers during the peak summer season.
The details:
- CUPE spokesperson Hugh Pouliot announced the breakthrough on Tuesday, stating that flight attendants achieved “transformational change” for the industry after a “historic fight” to affirm their Charter rights.
- The agreement is pending a vote by union members, and if rejected, the strike could resume.
- Air Canada has advised that it may take a week to ten days to fully resume normal scheduling as aircraft and crew are currently out of position.
- The strike continued despite an initial order on Saturday from the Canadian Jobs Minister instructing Air Canada and its workforce to resume operations.
The main issue highlighted by union representatives was wage stagnation, with entry-level Air Canada flight attendants’ wages seeing only a 10% increase, equivalent to just $3 per hour, over the past 25 years, while inflation in Canada has increased prices by 169% and average wages have grown 210% since 2000.
What they’re saying:
- “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.” – CUPE spokesperson Hugh Pouliot
- “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.” – Air Canada statement
Approximately 10,000 flight attendants participated in the strike, advocating for what they called much-needed adjustments to reflect industry standards and the cost of living.
What’s next: Air Canada is working to restore its schedule and minimize further disruptions, emphasizing that only passengers with confirmed bookings for operating flights should head to the airport. The airline has also committed to covering reasonable additional accommodations and out-of-pocket expenses incurred by customers due to the labor dispute.
Recent from X
Today’s operations resumption summary:
• All 260 Air Canada & Air Canada Rouge aircraft back in the skies
• Flew almost 95% of our full network schedule
• Operated almost 1,100 flights throughout our global network
• Welcomed 137,000 customers onboard
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/CO8kAPswTo— Air Canada (@AirCanada) August 22, 2025
Air Canada Employees Accelerate the Recovery; Airline Updates Goodwill Policy for Customers to Exceptionally Include Accommodation and Out-of-Pocket Costs.
Learn more: https://t.co/RJ2vQ0WrK2 pic.twitter.com/8N5wCZco29
— Air Canada (@AirCanada) August 21, 2025
I am relieved that Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have reached a tentative agreement early this morning.
It is my hope that this will ensure flight attendants are compensated fairly at all times, while ending disruption for hundreds of thousands of…
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 19, 2025
It’s a cooler start to your Wednesday with 18C temperatures to start, reaching a high of 23C later today. There are 1,022 total flights scheduled to depart and arrive at the airport.
Air Canada resumed operations yesterday with schedules gradually set to increase as the airline… pic.twitter.com/2qlOpVIwiH
— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) August 20, 2025
