Looming strike cancels dozens of Air Canada flights at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga

Dozens of Air Canada flights out of Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga have been cancelled on Friday and more cancellations are expected as an early Saturday morning strike deadline looms, airport officials say.

Pearson officials said the cancelled flights had been scheduled for both Friday afternoon and evening, but were grounded by Air Canada as the company and its more than 10,000 flight attendants remained at odds over a new collective bargaining agreement.

The dozens of scrapped flights at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport are among some 500 that have been — or will be — cancelled across the country on Friday.

“Air Canada has cancelled dozens of flights this afternoon and evening out of Toronto Pearson, with more cancellations expected. If your flight is cancelled, please do not travel to the airport,” Pearson officials said in a post to social media on Friday afternoon.

Airport officials urge those planning to travel on Canada’s flagship airline to visit aircanada.com or call the airline for updates.

“Passengers travelling with other airlines from Toronto Pearson are not expected to experience disruptions,” the social media post continued. “Toronto Pearson teams are adding more terminal staff to assist passengers, working with Air Canada on an aircraft parking plan and adding more resources to keep operations running smoothly. We’ll continue sharing the latest operational updates and travel tips as the situation develops.”

Air Canada flight attendants are poised to walk off the job around 1 a.m. ET on Saturday, followed by a company-imposed lockout if the two sides can’t reach an eleventh-hour deal.

Air Canada warned it is cancelling around 500 flights previously scheduled to take off on Friday in anticipation of the work stoppage, with a full stoppage looming Saturday.

The Air Canada component of CUPE, which represents the flight attendants, says it is eager to avoid a work stoppage by sitting down to negotiate, while the airline has requested the federal government step in and direct the parties to enter binding arbitration.

— with files from The Canadian Press