Air Canada has suspended all its flights as a strike by cabin staff begins - a move the airline said will disrupt travel plans for around 130,000 passengers a day. The union representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants confirmed the 72-hour industrial action early on Saturday morning.

Summer travelers are facing uncertainty as the clock winds down on a possible strike by Air Canada flight attendants, which the airline said would force it to cancel almost all of its scheduled flights as soon as Saturday.

A bitter contract fight between Canada’s largest airline and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday as the union turned down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.