The Air Canada check-in area inside Terminal 1 of Toronto Pearson International Airport is pictured in Mississauga, Ontario. (AP)Canada’s largest airline Air Canada has said that it will start suspending flights on Thursday after the union representing its flight attendants said they would go on a 72-hour strike this weekend. Air Canada is preparing to lock out the flight attendants who voted to go on a strike.Air Canada informed that it will gradually suspend flight operations on Thursday which could see more cancellations on Friday, and a complete cessation of flying by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge over the weekend, meaning an orderly shutdown by the company.A strike notice was issued earlier on Wednesday by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents about 10,000 flight attendants of Air Canada, after a deadlock remained over contract talks. Nearly 99.7% of the membership voted to strike, the union said.To address ongoing labour uncertainty following strike notice by CUPE, Air Canada’s flight attendant union, a lock out notice was issued to CUPE today, effective Aug. 16. We will begin implementing our contingency plan to gradually begin an orderly wind down of operations.— Air Canada (@AirCanada) August 13, 2025According to Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, “For the past nine months, we have put forward solid, data-driven proposals on wages and unpaid work, all rooted in fairness and industry standards,” CNN reported.Lesosky further added, “Air Canada’s response to our proposals makes one thing clear: they are not interested in resolving these critical issues.”The airline responded with a 72-hour lockout notice and said that it had received a notice by CUPE which sought “exorbitant increases” and that the union rejected an offer to enter third-party arbitration. The strike is set to start at 1am EST (5am GMT) on Saturday.Air Canada, which operated with 259 aircrafts in 64 countries, said that the strike by flight attendants is “a major risk” to the company and its employees. A BBC report stated that 130,000 daily customers, including 25,000 Canadians are set to be affected due to travel disruptions amid peak summer travel period.In a post on X, Air Canada said “To address ongoing labour uncertainty following strike notice by CUPE, Air Canada’s flight attendant union, a lock out notice was issued to CUPE today, effective Aug. 16. We will begin implementing our contingency plan to gradually begin an orderly wind down of operations.”Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Air Canada