OTTAWA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Canada's largest airline Air Canada said Wednesday it will begin canceling flights on Thursday ahead of a potential strike.
Air Canada said in a news release that more flights will be canceled on Friday, with a complete cessation of flying by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge on Saturday. About 130,000 customers a day could be affected by the disruption.
After the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flight attendants, provided notice that it intends to begin a strike, Air Canada responded by issuing a 72-hour lockout notice to mitigate the strike's customer impact.
Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz and PAL Airlines will continue operating as normal, the Air Canada release said. These regional partners only carry about 20 percent of Air Canada's daily customers.
According to Air Canada, it operates globally to approximately 65 countries on six continents with a fleet of 259 aircraft.
Despite eight months of negotiations on the issues of compensation increase, ground pay, improved pensions and benefits, and increased crew rest, Air Canada has been unable to reach a tentative agreement with CUPE.
According to CUPE, 99.7 percent of employees represented by the union voted for a strike. The airline has also sought government-directed arbitration to resolve the situation, said the Air Canada release.
