Air Canada has started cancelling flights in advance of a 72-hour strike by cabin crew staff that will leave its fleet of aircraft “completely grounded’.

More than 10,000 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 said it will shut down operations by the end of the day Friday as flight attendants prepare to go on strike.