*

Air Canada ( ACDVF ) to resume operations later on Sunday

*

Flight attendants to return to duties by 2 p.m.

*

Some flights will still be canceled over next 7-10 days

*

Government orders binding arbitration to break contract

impasse

(Writes through, adds details from Air Canada ( ACDVF ) statement in

paragraph 8)

By Rishabh Jaiswal

Aug 17 (Reuters) - Air Canada ( ACDVF ) plans to resume

flights later on Sunday, a day after the government issued a

directive to end a cabin crew strike that caused the suspension

of around 700 daily flights, stranding more than 100,000

passengers.

Thousands of Air Canada ( ACDVF ) flight attendants walked off the job

on Saturday, for the first time since 1985, after months of

negotiations over a new contract.

The country's largest carrier said flights would restart on

Sunday evening, but some would still be canceled over the next

7-10 days as the schedule stabilizes and returns to normal. It

had started cancelling flights on Friday in anticipation of the

stoppage.

The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ordered Air

Canada ( ACDVF ) to resume operations and all Air Canada ( ACDVF ) and Air Canada

Rouge flight attendants to return to their duties by 2 p.m. ET

(1800 GMT), the airline said in a statement.

The CIRB was acting on a directive from the country's Jobs

Minister Patty Hajdu as the government moved to end the strike

and require binding arbitration to break a contract impasse, an

action that Air Canada ( ACDVF ) had previously sought from Prime Minister

Mark Carney's minority Liberal government but unionized flight

attendants fiercely opposed.

The most contentious issue in the contract negotiations has

been the union's demand for compensation for time spent on the

ground between flights and when helping passengers board.

Attendants are now largely paid only when their plane is moving.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) had pushed for

a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take

pressure off the airline.

Air Canada ( ACDVF ) said on Sunday that the CIRB had ordered the

terms of the collective agreement between the union and the

airline that expired on March 31 be extended until a new

agreement can be reached.

The CUPE did not immediately respond to a Reuters request

for comment.