Thousands of British air passengers have been left stranded today as a wave of anti-austerity strikes hit mainland Europe shutting down airports and bringing public services to a grinding halt.

Heathrow has seen 39 cancellations with British Airways axing eight flights to Madrid and Barcelona as well as two return services to Lisbon in Portugal. EasyJet have cancelled some UK-Spanish services as well as more than 20 flights within mainland Europe.

And there were angry scenes as protesters clashed with police on Oxford Street during a demonstration against the sacking of 28 Crossrail workers which had been planned to coincide with European strikes.

British Airways said: ‘We are doing all we can to minimise the disruption to our customers.’

‘Customers due to fly to or from Spain today can rebook to an alternate date free of charge. Customers on cancelled services can also take a full refund.