Deal with pilots averts strike at Air Canada [Video]

Flagship carrier Air Canada said Sunday it has reached a last-minute tentative deal with its pilots, averting a crippling strike that would have grounded flights and risked devastating the economy.

The agreement was announced just minutes after a key overnight deadline lapsed that would have seen hundreds of flights started to be cancelled over the coming days.

“Air Canada has reached a tentative, four-year collective agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), representing more than 5,200 pilots at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge,” the airline said in a statement.

The two sides had been in talks for 15 months.

This past week, groups representing more than 200,000 businesses across Canada urged the government to intervene, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused, while impressing on both sides that “millions of Canadians (were) counting on everyone to get this resolved.”

Both sides would have been in a position at midnight …