A strike by ground staff at Hong Kong airport left thousands of passengers waiting for hours for their luggage, and many left the airport empty-handed, local media reported on Dec. 28.

Airport Authority Hong Kong said late on Dec. 27 that a total of 36 arrival and 47 departure flights were affected during the three-hour strike in the afternoon. It gave no further details.

About 1,000 ground staff out of 3,000 staged the protest as their employer Hong Kong Airport Services, a joint venture between Cathay Pacific and Dragonair, planned to halve workers' bonuses, the South China Morning Post said.

Hong Kong Airport Services initially planned to scrap the bonus due to the economic downturn, it added.

The paper quoted lawmaker Ip Wai Ming as saying staff representatives had agreed not to take further action ahead of another round of talks on the dispute on Jan. 5.