TORONTO, ON — Over 620 Air Canada flights, numerous of which are long-distance journeys, have been canceled as the likelihood of a flight attendants’ strike approached on Friday, leaving travelers stranded globally and seeking alternatives during the high-demand summer travel period.

On Friday, tensions intensified between Canada’s major airline and the union that represents 10,000 flight attendants when the union rejected the airline’s proposal to engage in government-led arbitration. This arbitration would remove the possibility of a strike by allowing an independent mediator to establish the conditions of a new contract.

Flight attendants were prepared to initiate a strike at approximately 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday, in parallel with Air Canada’s plan to begin preventing flight attendants from accessing airports. These steps could potentially affect around 130,000 passengers daily.

Air Canada said that more than 623 flights had been cancelled by Friday evening, affecting more than 100,000 people.

Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu convened with the airline and the union on Friday evening, urging them to intensify efforts to finalize an agreement “once and for all.”

“The lack of significant progress is unacceptable. Canadians expect both parties to make their utmost efforts,” Hajdu stated in a message shared on social media.

Hugh Pouliot, a spokesman for the union, said the union had a meeting with Hajdu and representatives from Air Canada earlier Friday evening.

“CUPE has communicated with the mediator to express our readiness to continue negotiations — even though Air Canada has not responded to our last two proposals since Tuesday,” he conveyed in an email. “Our aim is to negotiate an agreement, not to initiate a strike.”

The Canadian carrier already started canceling flights Thursday. It expects to call off almost all of its flights by Saturday morning. A complete shutdown threatens to impact about 130,000 people a day, and it could affect some 25,000 Canadians a day who may become stranded abroad.

On Thursday, when the airline said it was beginning it’s “phased wind down” of most operations, 18 domestic flights and four international flights were canceled.

Montreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving since Christmas for their European vacation. Now their $8,000 trip with nonrefundable lodging is on the line as they wait to hear from Air Canada about the fate of their Saturday night flight to Nice, France.

Laroche said he considered booking new flights with a different carrier, but he said most of them are nearly full and more than double the $3,000 they paid for their original tickets.

“At this point, it’s just a waiting game,” he said.

Laroche said he was initially upset over the union’s decision to go on strike, but that he had a change of heart after reading about the key issues at the center of the contract negotiations, including the issue of wages.

“Their wage is barely livable,” Laroche said.

Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal.

Both sides say they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren’t in the air.

The airline’s latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions over four years, that it said “would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.” But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year didn’t go far enough because of inflation.

Passengers whose travel is impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s website or mobile app, according to Air Canada.

The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. But it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full “due to the summer travel peak.”

How long the airline’s planes will be grounded remains to be seen. But Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr has said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once a tentative deal is reached.

Associated Press airlines writer Rio Yamat reported from Las Vegas.

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