With flights grounded and travel plans thrown into disarray for thousands of Canadians, many have written to CBC News asking about the dispute — including clarification on recent interactions between the federal government,

Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Monday afternoon, August 18, 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 and the union representing 10,000 striking flight attendants were holding early discussions on Monday night, the union said in a statement, the first such talks in nearly a week. In a rare act of defiance,