Rome - Hundreds of holiday and business travellers were stranded Tuesday at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport due to a wildcat strike that forced the cancellation of dozens of flights.

Baggage handlers and maintenance staff stopped work to protest negotiations about the future of the country's flagship carrier, Alitalia.

By mid-afternoon some 39 incoming flights and four departures were scrapped at the Rome hub, the ANSA news agency reported.

Some 100 flights were cancelled on Monday at the airport, also known as Fiumicino.

Striking workers cite as a reason for their protest a breach in employment terms agreed with Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI), the private consortium which is in the process of purchasing state- controlled Alitalia.

"I perfectly understand the workers' concern because they are facing the prospect of job losses in this economic and financial situation and that's a big worry," Infrastructure Minister Altero Matteoli, said in a television interview.

"However, they cannot resolve the problems with a strike like this, which is totally illegal," he added.

CAI has offered contracts to some 12,500 of Alitalia's 17,000 employees. The remainder are expected to receive severance packages with unemployment benefits.

CAI, which intends to re-launch a scaled down Alitalia in January, on Tuesday formally put 46 aircraft up for sale through advertisements appearing in London-based daily, The Financial Times, and other newspapers. Potential buyers have to make their offers before January 29.

CAI is also seeking a partnership with another international carrier which, according to newspaper reports and government officials, is likely to be either Air France-KLM or Germany's Lufthansa. dpa