The Canadian government will order more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants to return to work, less than half a day after their strike led to hundreds of flight cancellations.

Jobs and Families Minister, Patty Hajdu, said she invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to arbitrate the dispute between Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

“The enormous impact of a nationwide labor disruption of this scale is already being felt by Canadians and visitors to our country. This impact will grow significantly with a prolonged dispute,” read the statement. “In a year in which Canadian families and businesses have already experienced too much disruption and uncertainty, this is not the time to add additional challenges and disruptions to their lives and our economy.”

The minister directed the Board to help both sides settle the remaining terms of their collective agreement through final and binding arbitration, while extending the current agreement until the arbitrator issues a new one, the statement said.

She added that the decision will shield hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors from flight cancellations and ensure the uninterrupted transport of essential goods—including pharmaceuticals and organ tissue—over 40 percent of which are carried by Air Canada.

Air Canada confirmed that the CUPE-led strike began at 12:58 a.m. local time (0458 GMT) on Saturday, with about 130,000 customers expected to be affected each day it continues.

The airline also said it has initiated a lockout of the striking flight attendants to prevent them from working during the dispute.

It remains uncertain when flight attendants will return to work.

Local media report that if Air Canada fully halts operations, it could take about a week for the airline to restore its global network.