Airport workers across India threatened to strike at midnight on Tuesday, a move that could ground hundreds of commercial flights and leave tens of thousands of passengers stranded. The threatened strike is over plans to privatize two major airports, but workers are expected to join in at 127 other state-run airports - nearly every airport in India except New Delhi and Mumbai, the two busiest airports, which are already privately run. S.R. Santhanam, a leader of the airport workers union, said the decision to launch an open-ended strike starting at midnight Tuesday (18:30GMT) was made after talks with the government broke down Monday. “No talks are scheduled unless the government sends a message,” he said, adding that some 15,000-airport workers, including baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff would go on strike. The dispute between stems from a government plan to privatize new airports in the southern cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore, a move that union says will endanger the jobs of hundreds of employees. Airport authorities plan to shift all commercial activity from the cities' old airports to the new ones when they open in coming weeks. __
