"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.

An ongoing labor dispute between Air Canada and its 10,000 flight attendants is wreaking havoc for half a million travelers and counting.

A leader of the union on strike against Air Canada said on Monday he would risk jail time rather than allow cabin crews to be forced back to work by a federal labor board.