Dnata personnel, who reportedly handle about a fifth of the traffic through Cointrin airport, began their strike at 4am, the SSP public sector union said on the social media platform X.

The strike was called to demand “dignified working conditions and working wages”, it said.

Around 80 strikers gathered in front of the airport wearing bright yellow safety vests and brandishing union flags and posters with messages such as: “Dnata is killing me” and “Precarious work means grounded flights”.

The airport acknowledged that the work stoppage was delaying flights during the busy Christmas rush.

“Some of the employees of a service provider are on strike today, causing an impact on our operations,” it said in a statement, apologising to passengers for the inconvenience.