HELSINKI, December 8, 2010 (AFP) - Finnair cancelled another 200 flights on Wednesday as negotiators for the airline and the Cabin Crew Union waited for official talks to resume.

"Today we will be flying 35 percent of our flights, and carrying 48 percent of our passengers," Finnair spokeswoman Hanna-Kaisa Nurmi told AFP.

State labour mediator Esa Lonka has not yet reconvened talks after the union rejected a second compromise deal set out on Monday.

The first proposal was also rejected by the union last week.

"Obviously there are all kinds of unofficial discussions going on in every direction...we're all trying to figure out what can be done in this situation," Finnair's negotiator Kaj Schmidt, chairman of the Association of Support Service Industries, told AFP.

"A common understanding still escapes us," he said, adding that the strike was so damaging for all concerned that a deal must be reached soon.

The Cabin Crew Union launched the strike on November 30, and they are now being supported by several other unions who have ceased providing Finnair with fuel, ground handling services, catering, check-in, technical maintenance, repairs, and inspections.

These measures also affect Finnair flights run by other airlines which Finnair has contracted to fly some of their routes.

In addition, charter holiday flights, which were initially excluded from the support strike, are now being cut off from these services as well.

Since the strike began on November 30, more than 1,600 flights have been cancelled.