Qantas strike cancels 28 flights

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian carrier Qantas Airways on Monday said itwould cancel 28 flights and delay a further 27 due to a ground staffstrike this week which would impact more than 6,000 passengers.The strike will hit most of the major Australian airports during Tuesday'smorning peak period, with 3,800 baggage handlers and other ground staff to walk off the job for four hours over stalled contract negotiations.Qantas said it would cancel 28 flights and delay another 27 by up to 35 minutes due to the industrial action, which it hoped to tackle by deploying larger aircraft and using management staff in ground roles.The airline could not immediately say whether any international services would be hit.Delays could linger for up to two days due to bans on paperwork and other jobs that will accompany the Transport Workers Union (TWU) strike, the airline added, while apologizing to the more than 6,100 customers who would be hit.