Air Canada and the union representing about 10,000 flight attendants resumed talks on Monday evening for the first time since the strike began earlier this week. The strike affects approximately 130,000 passengers daily during the peak summer travel season. This is the first communication between the two sides since Friday evening or Saturday morning. The union stated that the airline initiated contact and the meeting took place with the help of a mediator in Toronto. This followed the union’s announcement that flight attendants would not return to work despite the strike, now in its third day, being declared illegal. Earlier, Air Canada said that consecutive flight cancellations would continue until Tuesday afternoon after the union defied a second order to return to work. The company announced operations would resume Monday evening, but the union president denied this.

Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees representing Air Canada flight attendants, said, “We will not return to the skies.” The Canadian Industrial Relations Board declared the strike illegal on Monday and ordered the attendants back to work, but the union said it would challenge the order. Union leaders also ignored an earlier order to submit to binding arbitration and end the strike by Sunday afternoon.