People wait in lines at Pearson Airport on Friday, ahead of a potential strike by Air Canada flight attendants.

A small crowd gathered inside the Air Canada terminal in Toronto Pearson Airport on Friday, even as many departures ground to a halt ahead of a potential strike by the carrier’s flight attendants Saturday.

Anxious travellers lined up in neat, but snaking rows to the check-in counter, some with passport and luggage in tow hoping to fly out even with odds stacked against them.

Many came empty-handed, looking for an opportunity to speak to someone in person about their cancelled flights after hours spent on hold trying to reach Air Canada staff by phone without resolution.

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