Air Canada flight attendants said Tuesday they had reached a "tentative" deal with the airline to end a strike over wages and ground work that has cancelled travel for half a million people worldwide.

By Allison Lampert and Rajesh Kumar Singh MONTREAL/CHICAGO (Reuters) -A crippling strike by Air Canada flight attendants that grounded thousands of flights over wages and unpaid labor is the latest blow to the airline industry's compensation system that does not fully pay cabin crews for their hours at work.

At Toronto’s biggest airport on Sunday, the national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees tore up a back-to-work order to a cheering crowd.