Thursday at 29 major airports across the country to operate air traffic control, communication and navigations systems and other essential services. He said international flights were unlikely to be affected as they landed and departed late at night. The strike call is from 7 a.m to 7 p.m. Indian Standard Time. The striking unions changed their initial 24-hour strike call to a 12-hour call to avoid inconveniencing passengers who had already boarded international flights, a spokesperson for the All India Trade Union Congress said. Several private airlines in India cancelled flights scheduled Thursday for the eastern city of Calcutta, known to be a bastion of the left. ---SP 2308 Local Time 2008 GMT
