Loss-making Finnish airline Finnair said Tuesday it had cancelled some 20 flights on Monday and Tuesday due to a wildcat strike by ground handling staff.
"Customer service workers have returned to work, but loading staff have not yet returned. It is difficult to say how the situation will develop," Finnair spokeswoman Maria Mroue told AFP.
"Most of the cancelled flights are domestic flights to destinations where we have many flights per day," she added.
On Monday Finnair announced it would outsource some 490 employees at its ground handling company Northport to human resource company Barona and some 130 cargo terminal workers to Suomen Transval.
The announcement prompted some 200 employees at Northport to walk off the job.
"Employees affected by the outsourcing, luggage handlers and loaders, have not yet returned to work. The Finnish Aviation Union's board will convene at noon (1000 GMT) to discuss how to proceed or when the protest will end," explained Pekka Kaehkoenen, the representative of the aviation union at Northport.
Finnair, like the whole airline industry, has been struggling to boost its profitability as passenger numbers and fares continue to plunge following the recent global financial turmoil.
The carrier has been tackling the problem by cutting routes and staff.
In the January-September period Finnair had nearly 9,000 employees, which is around 600 fewer than in the same period in 2008.
Finnair aims to cut its annual costs by 200 million euros (301 million dollars) next year and has said further personnel reductions are possible.
In the third quarter it made a net loss of 20.7 million euros.
