Air Canada flights started operating again on 19 August after it reached a mediated agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) through a process overseen by a mutually agreed-to mediator, William Kaplan. The Canadian carrier says mediation discussions began "on the basis that the union commit to have the airline's 10,000 flight attendants immediately return to work, allowing the airline to resume the operations of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, which have been grounded since August 16". "The suspension of our service is extremely difficult for our customers," states Michael Rousseau, president and chief executive of Air Canada. "We deeply regret and apologise 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." The airline states that it has scheduled 155 flights for 19 August with a limited number of international services and will gradually increase services across Canada and to the USA over coming days. Schedules data indicates that the airline had previously scheduled to operate over 700 flights per day over the coming week. "We’re laser-focused on getting our customers moving again. Restoring global operations will take up to ten days, as aircraft and crew are out of position. Additionally, mandatory maintenance checks are required, as aircraft have been on the ground for more than three days," says the airline's executive vice-president and chief operations officer Mark Nasr. CUPE said in a 19 August press release that "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". It adds: "Unpaid work is over. 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."

IATA has released its latest 20-year passenger forecast which predicts a doubling of traveller numbers globally from 2024 to 2044. That’s under the baseline scenario published by the airline association, but it believes that the figures could be as low as around a 45% expansion if there is "lasting damage" from weaker macroeconomic conditions, or a 150% increase should the global economy expand more than expected boosting consumer confidence and demand. The association’s forecast takes into consideration geopolitical risks, economic changes and long-term transport trends.

Air Canada has suspended its guidance for the third quarter and full year as a strike by flight attendants stretches into its third day despite Canada's labour regulator declaring it illegal. The airline and its Air Canada Rouge subsidiary have had rolling cancellations since the strike by around 10,000 flight attendants started on 16 August led by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). On 17 August, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) declared the ongoing strike illegal and ordered CUPE and its officers to "immediately cease all activities that declare or authorise an unlawful strike of its members and to direct the members of the bargaining unit to resume the performance of their duties," Air Canada states. As of the evening of 19 August, however, the flight attendants had not returned to work, and rolling cancellations appear likely to continue. Earlier, Air Canada had planned to restart operations on the evening of 18 August after Ottawa intervened and appointed the CIRB to arbitrate the labour dispute, a large part of which is focused on pay for duties performed by flight attendants before and after flights. The carrier says that over 500,000 passengers have now been affected by the strikes, and have been offered refunds, future travel credits or rebooking on another airline. Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz and PAL are not affected by the strike. "Given the effects of the labour disruption and related impact on operations, Air Canada is suspending its guidance for third quarter and full-year 2025 operating results provided in its July 28, 2025 news release," the company says. At that time, Air Canada forecast that third-quarter capacity would increase by 3.25-3.75% year-on-year, with full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of C$3.2-3.6 billion ($2.32-2.61 billion).