An Air Canada plane is parked at Pearson International Airport on Thursday. With a looming flight attendant strike, the company announced that all flights will be paused by early Saturday morning unless a deal is reached. Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images

Air Canada says about 500 flights are expected to be cancelled by the end of Friday as an impending strike by its flight attendants looms.

“Several dozen” flights were cancelled on Thursday, company executives said during a press conference that was cut short by protests by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) , who entered the room holding signs that said things such as “Unpaid Work Won’t Fly” and “Poverty Wages = UnCanadian.”

“We find CUPE’s decision to strike very regretful, and the impact that this is going to have o

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