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INDIA, (AFP) Feb. 03, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday vowed to press ahead with plans to privatise two Indian airports despite a strike that has caused chaos at airports for three consecutive days, a Marxist leader said.

Singh's tough message was delivered in talks Friday with his leftwing allies, who oppose the privatisation of the airports in New Delhi and Mumbai and who support the strike by the 22,000-member Airports Authority of India (AAI) workers' union. "The government said it would not reverse the privatisation process but that it can discuss other issues like the absorption of all airport employees," said Marxist leader Jyoti Basu, briefing reporters after the meeting.

At the talks in New Delhi, the premier had told the leftwing leaders who provide crucial parliamentary support to his coalition government that he would hold a meeting with union leaders later Friday, Basu said.

Air terminals Friday were in chaos with power down, overflowing toilets and lax security, witnesses said.

However, flights were on schedule and air traffic controls functioned normally at India's 130 airports.

Pilots and passengers trudged to aircraft on foot and airline executives manually handled baggage in stench-filled airports while freight terminals remained stacked with perishable cargo rotting, witnesses said. "Aircraft are not being cleaned and getting ladders for disembarkation at airports is a nightmare," said a pilot of a privately-run Jet Airways Airbus plane after landing in New Delhi.

India awarded contracts Tuesday for revamping New Delhi and Mumbai airports to India's GMR Industries in partnership with Germany's Fraport, and the GVK group, which has teamed up with the South African airport authority.

The workers want a review of the decision, saying the AAI can carry out the revamp, arguing money to modernise the facilities could have come from public funds.

The Delhi High Court Thursday ordered the workers not to stage protests within 500 metres (yards) of the Delhi and Mumbai airports.

It also warned them not to disrupt the functioning of the airports after riot police were called in to guard terminals following scuffles in which windows were smashed.

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