WestJet's union ends strike after reaching deal with carrier

People walk with their luggage as striking aircraft maintenance engineers and technical staff represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association union stand in a picket line against Westjet Airlines at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/ File Photo

(Reuters) -The union representing Canada's WestJet Airlines' striking mechanics said on Monday that it has negotiated a contract with the carrier, ending their strike immediately.

Westjet said members would return to work to restore the network after the airline had to park 130 aircraft at 13 airports across Canada. The airline anticipated further disruptions over the coming week as it gets aircarft and crew back into position.

The union said the contract covers the next five years without giving details on the new pay deal.

The carrier canceled additional 410 flights on Sunday for a total of more than 800 flights after the union representing around 680 workers at WestJet, including aircraft maintenance engineers went on strike on Friday after 97% of its members rejected a pay deal reached in May.

FILE PHOTO: A WestJet Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner airplane taxis along a runway at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada April 28, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo

"WestJet & AMFA have reached a tentative agreement, Canadians patience having been worn too thin," Canadian Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said in a post on X.

The minister had urged the union and the airline to resolve their differences and reach an agreement.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)