HAMILTON, Canada

Air Canada and its flight attendants reached a mediated tentative agreement Tuesday, paving the way for the airline to resume flights after a three-day shutdown.

"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," said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents more than 9,500 flight attendants.

"Unpaid work is over," said CUPE. "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 added.

Air Canada also confirmed the settlement was reached through mediation, led by William Kaplan, and said the return of service would be gradual.

"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, in a statement.

As the first flights are scheduled Tuesday evening, Air Canada also noted that it will provide refunds, credits or rebooking on other airlines for affected customers.

The airline added that no strike or lockout can occur while the tentative deal awaits ratification.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the deal in a message on US social media company X.

"I am relieved that Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have reached a tentative agreement early this morning," he said. "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.”

Air Canada announced Sunday that the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) mandated the extension of the terms of the collective agreement, originally set to expire March 31, until a new agreement is finalized between the airline and the union.