04:36 PM EDT, 08/12/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Air Canada ( ACDVF ) on Tuesday said negotiations with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are at an impasse, with both parties intending to issue a statutory 72-hour strike or lockout notice at 12:01 AM on August 13, with the airline shutting down as early as August 16.

The company said CUPE, which represents 10,000 flight attendants, has rejected an offer to enter a binding third-party arbitration. Air Canada ( ACDVF ) claims the union "submitted a counteroffer seeking exorbitant increases".

"Air Canada ( ACDVF ) is now looking at all remaining options, including a request for government-directed arbitration, to prevent a disruption or at least remove this intolerable uncertainty for our customers," Chief Human Resources Officer Carielle Meloul-Wechsler, said in a release.

CUPE last week said the flight attendants voted 99.7% in favor of striking as it said the airline is refusing to "fairly negotiate on key issues like unpaid work, work rules, and poverty-level wages".

The airline's shares closed up $0.36 to $19.54 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.