Air Canada began cancelling flights on Thursday after receiving a strike notice from the flight attendants' union, warning all operations could be shut down by Saturday.

The airline that transports about 130,000 passengers daily announced this week that negotiations on a new collective agreement with its 10,000 flight attendants had reached an "impasse."

Chief operating officer Mark Nasr told reporters Thursday that the airline had begun "a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations."

Without a deal, "all flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said.

In addition to demanding a wage increase, the union has argued flight attendants are not compensated for work on the ground, including during the boarding process.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees

See Full Page