Air Canada¡¯s flights remained grounded on Monday (18 August) after the CUPE union instructed its 10,000 cabin crew members not to return to work.

The North American carrier, which has an extensive network of flights to Europe, had planned to restart flights on Sunday (17 August) after an order was issued by Canadian authorities to end the strike.

But in a statement, Air Canada said it had ¡°suspended its plan to gradually resume operations, after CUPE illegally directed its flight attendant members not to return to work¡±.

¡°All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights have been cancelled until further notice,¡± added the airline.

Air Canada¡¯s flights have been grounded since Saturday (16 August) due to the CUPE strike, which also forced the carrier to wind down services on Thursday and Friday (14-15 August).

An order from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) had directed Air Canada¡¯s cabin crew to return to work and for flights to resume on Sunday.

The union said the Canadian government had caved in to "corporate pressure" and done "incalculable damage" to workers' rights by siding with Air Canada in the dispute.

CUPE called the strike as part of a campaign to secure higher wages for its cabin crew members, including being paid for duties performed while aircraft are on the ground, such as boarding passengers.

Air Canada has warned that it could take seven to 10 days to stabilise its schedule when flights eventually resume, with passengers warned to expect cancellations during this period. It added that Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz or PAL continue to fly as normal.