Looming Air Canada strike strands Kitchener sisters in Scotland

Two sisters from Kitchener say they have been stranded in Scotland as hundreds of Air Canada flights have been cancelled ahead of a strike deadline.

Denise Marchant told CTV News she flew to Europe with her sister to celebrate her 60th birthday.

They were scheduled to fly back to Canada tomorrow, but now their flight home has been cancelled.

Marchant has been told the airline is trying to rebook their flights, but they may be stuck in Edinburgh for a few more days.

In the meantime, the sisters are trying to find their own way home, but costs have soared.

Marchant believes rebooking their trip home may be more challenging than other destinations because the last leg of the journey relies on ground transportation.

“When you book with Air Canada living in Kitchener-Waterloo, we use the shuttle service – the shuttle from [Region of Waterloo International Airport] to Toronto airport,” Marchant said. “Air Canada just wrote us saying they couldn’t find us flights home because they’re looking at the final destination of the Waterloo airport. They’re not realizing that they need to look for something in Toronto.”

Air Canada has cancelled hundreds of flights scheduled to take off on Friday as more than 10,000 flight attendants are ready to walk off the job at 1 a.m. Saturday, followed by a company-imposed lockout.