An estimated 15,000 people have been left stranded at airports across the world after ground staff working for the Dutch national airline, KLM, went on strike at Amsterdam's Schiphol international airport.

An airline spokesman said 22 of KLM's international flights out of Schiphol had to be cancelled on Saturday.

Another 16 intercontinental flights scheduled for Sunday have been cancelled.

About 150 KLM ground technical staff staged the walk out, demanding a 40% pay rise.

KLM have filed a law suit against the strikers and a Dutch judge has ruled that they should return to work immediately.

A strike representative at the hearing said the ground staff would cooperate with the court ruling.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service