Air Canada reaches agreement with pilots union, averting strike

(Reuters) – Air Canada said early on Sunday it had reached a tentative agreement with its pilots union over a new four-year collective agreement, in a deal that will avert a near-term strike or lockout.

Canada’s largest airline said in a statement that the terms of its new agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) representing more than 5,200 pilots will remain confidential, pending a ratification vote by its members expected to be completed over the next month.

Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, which operate nearly 670 flights per day, will continue flying as normal, the airline said.

Before the tentative agreement was reached, the airline had been preparing to progressively cancel flights over three days, and completely shut down its operations as early as 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The ALPA said in a separate statement that its leaders had approved the tentative agreement with Air Canada for member ratification.

Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon said in a post on X that travel disruptions for Canadians were prevented thanks to the hard work of the parties and federal mediators.

Air Canada’s pilots were demanding wage rates that would narrow the pay gap with their counterparts at major U.S. carriers such as United Airlines.