Air Canada's unionized flight attendants reached an agreement with the country's largest carrier on Tuesday, ending the first strike by its cabin crew in 40 years that had upended travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

The airline said that it would gradually restart operations Tuesday but that a return to "full restoration may require a week or more."

TORONTO — Air Canada said it will gradually restart operations after reaching an agreement early on Tuesday with the union for 10,000 flight attendants to end a strike that disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of travelers.

Air Canada and the union representing 10,000 flight attendants resumed talks late Monday for the first time since the strike began over the weekend. The strike is affecting about 130,000 travelers a day at the peak of the summer travel season.

Air Canada and the union representing 10,000 striking flight attendants were holding early discussions on Monday night, the union said in a statement, the first such talks in nearly a week. In a rare act of defiance,

Canadian regulators once again ordered union leaders to end Air Canada's work stoppage on Monday, while employees remain defiant.

Air Canada has suspended plans to restart operations after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants decided to defy a return-to-work order

Air Canada and the union representing Canadian flight attendants have reached a tentative deal to end the strike that started Saturday. It will resume flights.

Air Canada has already begun canceling flights after hitting an impasse in contract negotiations with the flight attendants' union as a possible strike looms. Earlier this week, the union issued a notice of intention to strike,