Some passengers flying out of Winnipeg's Richardson International Airport on Friday say they're feeling frustrated and stranded as Air Canada began cancelling flights ahead of a flight attendants' strike.

“These workers deserve a fair deal, it’s been over 10 years, they’ve taken pay cuts, they’ve given up vacations,” said Gina McKay, president of CUPE Manitoba. “These Manitoba workers pay themselves to get back to Manitoba. We are here until a fair deal is reached.”

When Air Canada pilots went on strike in September 1998 for 13 days, all of the carrier's more than 600 daily flights were grounded, stranding passengers and costing the airline C$133m ($96m; £71m) before a deal was reached.