Flight crew at Air Canada have ended a dispute with the airline which had grounded flights and stranded thousands of passengers since Saturday.
A tentative agreement was announced by the union representing flight attendants and confirmed by the airline, which said flights will resume later on Tuesday.
More than 10,000 staff had walked out in protest at pay and scheduling. The deal approved by the union has not been disclosed – it will now be presented to members to be ratified.
The breakthrough came nine hours after talks began with the help of an approved mediator appointed by the government.
The dispute had escalated when the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) rejected an order to return to work issued by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.
After Tuesday morning’s news, the airline said the first flights would restart on Tuesday evening but it may take days to return to a full service because aircraft and crew are out of position.
It added that it would not comment on the terms of the agreed deal until it had been ratified.
In contract negotiations, Air Canada said it had offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year.
CUPE said the offer was “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage” and would still leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports ahead of flights.