Flights cancelled in Portugal amid airport workers' strike

A strike by workers at Portugal's airports has forced the cancellation of over 200 flights.

Portuguese state broadcaster RTP said that at least 166 flights were cancelled in Lisbon alone on Saturdays.

Unions also called strikes for the airports in Porto, Faro, Funchal and Porto Santo.

The walkouts over wage conditions are scheduled to last through Sunday.

At Lisbon airport, several tourists accounted for the constraints with one Canadian passenger being stuck inside her plane for hours because there was no one to assist after landing.

Hundreds of passengers were queuing for hours to be able to try to get more information on their flight rebooking possibilities, not always being able to comply with two meters distance advised due to the pandemic.

Portugal is currently facing a new spike of infections due to the delta variant of COVID-19. On Saturday health authorities reported over 3,600 cases.

The strike is affecting mainly one airport handling company that is responsible for luggage and assistance on planes before departure and after landing.