Air Canada cabin crew walked off the job early Saturday, grounding hundreds of flights and stranding thousands of passengers forced to seek alternatives or stay put.

The strike, which started just after 1 a.m. EDT, forced Canada’s largest airline to suspend most of its 700 daily flights, affecting about 130,000 travelers, the airline said.

It's unclear how many U.S. passengers are affected. Air Canada operates about 430 flights to the United States daily, out of more than 1,000 total flights, according to Travel and Tour World.

Unionized Air Canada employees formed picket lines outside major Canadian airports as they fought for better pay and conditions.

An Air Canada Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is on the runway after landing at Toulouse Blagnac Airport in Toulouse, France, on June 24, 2

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