By Allison Lampert

MONTREAL (Reuters) -Air Canada and its unionized flight attendants remained at odds on Friday, despite government pleas for both sides to return to bargaining to avert a strike that would upend travel for tens of thousands of passengers.

Canada’s largest carrier has said it expects to cancel 500 flights by the end of the day, ahead of the planned Saturday strike, leaving some 100,000 passengers scrambling for alternatives.

Flightradar data showed Air Canada had cancelled 27 flights as of 10 p.m. EDT on Thursday (0200 GMT on Friday).

The carrier’s 10,000 flight attendants are gearing up to strike just before 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday over stalled contract talks on union demands for higher wages and compensation for unpaid work.

A strike would hit Canada’s tourism sector

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