Air Canada said it will start cancelling flights on Thursday ahead of a possible strike by its flight attendants, which the airline said will allow for an orderly shutdown of Canada's largest airline.

The union representing 10,000 flight attendants for Canada's largest airline issued issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday.

Air Canada is cancelling flights from Thursday, as the country's largest carrier winds down service ahead of a looming Saturday strike by its more than 10,000 flight attendants.