Thousands of North-East tourists were faced with delays and changes to their travel plans as they headed for Spain yesterday.

A 24-hour strike by Spanish workers threw holiday plans into turmoil, with the country's airports either closed or crippled by the action, which ran from midnight on Wednesday to midnight yesterday.

However, contingency plans ran relatively smoothly in the UK, with airlines and tour operators rearranging flight times so there were no landings or take-offs scheduled for Spanish airports during the strike.

Some holidaymakers who had planned to fly to Spain from Teesside and Newcastle airports were taken to Manchester and East Midlands airports yesterday where they joined consolidated flights on larger aircraft.

John Waiting, of Teesside Airport, said the airport had lost revenue after flights were redirected to Manchester, but there had been little waiting around for passengers.

He said: "The tour operators have been very good at informing passengers of the changed check-in times."

My Travel, formerly Airtours, estimated that about 3,000 of its passengers in the North-East were affected by the strike.

The operator flew out more than 11,000 free snack packs for customers caught at Spanish airports with no facilities.

A spokeswoman said: "People unable to fly on another day or unaware of the strike have been offered alternative holidays or have been put up overnight before travelling tomorrow.

"People unable to fly back from Spain are staying an extra night at their hotel or in similar standard alternative accommodation."

She said passengers who had lost more than 12 hours of their holiday were being reimbursed for the time lost.

Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith was among those caught in the dispute, with his Luton to Madrid flight leaving 90 minutes late.

Mr Duncan Smith, who was flying to a meeting with fellow centre-right politicians including Spanish Premier Jose Maria Aznar, promised to take the matter up with the Spanish Government