Air Canada and flight attendants union resume talks for the first time since strike began

TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada and the union representing 10,000 flight attendants resumed talks late Monday for the first time since the strike began over the weekend. The strike is affecting about 130,000 travelers a day at the peak of the summer travel season.

It was the first time the two sides talked since early Saturday or late Friday. In an update to its members, the union said the airline reached out and the meeting occurred with the assistance of a mediator in Toronto.

It followed the union's declaration that the flight attendants won’t return to work even though the strike, now in its third day, has been declared illegal.

Earlier, Air Canada said rolling cancellations would now extend Tuesday afternoon after the union defied a second return-to-work order. The country's biggest airline had said earlier that operations would resume Monday evening but the union president said that won't happen.

“We will not be returning to the skies,” said Mark Hancock, national president for Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, which also represents some non-public sectors.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board had declared the strike illegal Monday and ordered the flight attendants back on the job. But the union said it would defy the directive. Union leaders also ignored a weekend order to submit to binding arbitration and end the strike by Sunday afternoon.

The board, an independent administrative tribunal that interprets and applies Canada’s labor laws, had said the union needed to provide written notice to all of its members by noon Monday that they must resume their duties.

“If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it," Hancock said. "We’re looking for a solution here. Our members want a solution here, but solution has to be found at the bargaining table.”

It was not immediately clear what recourse the board or the government have if the union continues to refuse.

Labor leaders are objecting to the Canadian government’s repeated use of a law that cuts off workers' right to strike and forces them into arbitration, a step the government took in recent years with workers at ports, railways and elsewhere.

“We are in a situation where literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are being disrupted by this action,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “I urge both parties to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

Carney stressed it was important that flight attendants were compensated fairly at all times.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said the federal government is launching a probe into the unions' allegations that flight attendants are not paid for work they do while airplanes are on the ground, and is considering introducing legislation to address the issue.

Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. The airline estimated Monday that 500,000 customers would be affected by flight cancellations.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Monday afternoon, Air Canada had called off at least 1,219 domestic flights and 1,339 international flights since last Thursday, when the carrier began gradually suspending its operations ahead of the strike and lockout.

Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau said he still was looking for a quick resolution.

“We’re obviously hoping we can go tomorrow, but we’ll make that decision later today,” Rousseau said on BNN Bloomberg shortly after the union announced it would continue with the strike.

Montreal resident Robert Brzymowski has been stranded in Prague along with his wife and their two children since Saturday, when Air Canada canceled their flight home from what was meant to be a two-week vacation visiting relatives.

Brzymowski, who consults businesses on energy-efficient practices, said he was set to start a new job Monday but lost out on the contract because he wasn’t back in Montreal in time.

“I wasn’t planning on losing my job over vacation,” he said.

Frustrated by what he described as a lack of communication from the airline, Brzymowski said he went to the airport in Prague on Monday morning and was able to get the airline to book them a new flight on Aug. 25 — more than a week after their original flight.

He said his children will also miss the first day of the new school year, and his wife won’t get paid for the week because she used the last of her paid time off for the year for this trip.

“I, for one, will never fly Air Canada again,” Brzymowski said. “I’ll take a boat if I have to.”

Flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday, after turning down the airline's request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.

Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months but remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work that 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 flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s website or mobile app, according to Air Canada.

Airlines reporter Rio Yamat contributed to this report from Las Vegas.

Striking Air Canada flight attendants rally at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, British Columbia, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Air Canada flight attendants and supporters picket outside Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Quebec, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Striking Air Canada flight attendants rally at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, British Columbia, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Travelers look out over grounded Air Canada planes as flight attendants picket at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)

A sign with a photo of Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau on it is seen as striking Air Canada flight attendants rally at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, British Columbia, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (/Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Picketers march around the departures level at the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Picketers cheer as they hear news that Air Canada has halted a restart of operations at the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.

Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.

The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.

“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.

Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.

On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.

Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”

“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”

In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.

Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.

Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.

The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”

On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”

“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.

Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.

The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West's “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.

“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation," the embassy said.

Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.

“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.

Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”

Speaking on Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the American ambition to take over Greenland remains intact despite the Washington meeting, but she welcomed the creation of the working group.

The most important thing for Greenlanders is that they were directly represented at the meeting in the White House and that “the diplomatic dialogue has begun now,” Juno Berthelsen, a lawmaker for the pro-independence Naleraq opposition party, told AP.

A relationship with the U.S. is beneficial for Greenlanders and Americans and is “vital to the security and stability of the Arctic and the Western Alliance,” Berthelsen said. He suggested the U.S. could be involved in the creation of a coast guard for Greenland, providing funding and creating jobs for local people who can help to patrol the Arctic.

Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”

Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”

Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

From center to right, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, rear, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, right, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)

Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, left, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)