Dozens of Athens-bound passengers from Bahrain were stranded yesterday as life came to a halt in Greece following a nation-wide strike.

The around 70 passengers, who were scheduled to leave on a Gulf Air flight, will now depart today (October 6), an airline spokesman said.

Airliners were grounded, trains halted and tax offices shut as Greek state workers stayed away from work in protest, defying a plea by the government to rally behind its effort to fend off national bankruptcy.

"Since we have cancelled the flight, an Embraer, we will operate a larger aircraft (Airbus A320) to take them to their destination," said the spokesman.

The schedule will return to normal from today, he added.

"This has happened as air traffic controllers have also joined the strike," said the spokesman.

At Athens' airport, more than 400 domestic and international flights were cancelled.

The country's main labour unions say a new wave of salary and pension cuts, tax rises and layoffs announced last month is hurting only the poor and pushing the economy deeper into recession. – TradeArabia News Service