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 start of industrial action early on Saturday morning. The airline said it had suspended all flights, including those under its budget arm Air Canada Rouge, and advised affected customers not to travel to the airport unless flying with a different airline.Air Canada’s flight attendants are calling for higher salaries and to be paid for work when aircraft are on the ground.The strike took effect at 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT) on Saturday, though Air Canada began scaling back its operations before then. The airline says around 500 flights will be affected per day.Flight attendants will picket at major Canadian airports, where passengers were already trying to secure new bookings earlier in the week.Air Canada, which flies directly to 180 cities worldwide, said it had “suspended all operations” and that it was “strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport”.It added that Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines and Air Canada Express flights were unaffected by the strike.”Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers,” it said.By Friday night, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers, as part of a winding down of operations ahead of the strike.In contract negotiations, the airline said it had offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first …
