The Canada Industrial Relations Board has declared a strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants illegal and ordered them back on the job after they ignored an earlier order to return to work and submit to arbitration.

Air Canada began canceling flights Thursday ahead of a possible strike by its flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travelers. A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to impact about 130,

The independent tribunal that administers Canada's labour laws has deemed the strike by Air Canada's some 10,000 flight attendants illegal and is ordering workers back to the skies.