Air Canada began canceling flights on Thursday after receiving notice of a strike by the flight attendants' union, warning that all operations could be halted until Saturday.

The airline, which carries about 130,000 passengers a day, announced this week that negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement with its 10,000 flight attendants had reached an "impasse." Chief Executive Marc Nasr told reporters on Thursday that the airline had begun a "gradual shutdown of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations." "All flights will be suspended until early Saturday morning," he said.

In addition to demanding higher wages, the union claims that flight attendants are not compensated for work on the ground, including during passenger boarding.

Air Canada flies to 65 countries and operates direct flights to 180 cities. | BGNES, AFP