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Airlines have cancelled scores of flights as a strike by Italian air traffic controllers throws holidaymakers' travel plans into chaos.

The four-hour work stoppage has led to Ryanair grounding 96 flights to and from Italy, including four return services to and from the UK.

EasyJet has cancelled up to 60 flights and as many as 20 of them are into and out of the UK.

Grounded: Ryanair has cancelled almost 100 of its flights due to a strike by air traffic controllers in Italy

British Airways flights are also affected by the strike, which is expected to last from 11:30am to 3:30pm UK time.

A BA spokeswoman said: 'We are doing all we can to minimise disruption to customers affected by the threatened strike.' 

BA has re-timed some of its flights and is using larger aircraft to accommodate passengers whose flights have been cancelled.

The spokeswoman added: 'We are advising customers flying to and from Italy to keep checking the very latest information on our website.' 

Passengers have been told that further delays and cancellations are possible and they should check the status of their flight.

Major disruption: EasyJet has cancelled up to 60 flights and as many as 20 of them are into and out of the UK

Ryanair's cancellations include its Manchester-Bologna, Stansted-Ancona, Stansted-Trieste and Liverpool-Pisa routes.

The budget airline's Robin Kiely said: 'We sincerely apologise to all passengers who have had their travel plans disrupted by these unjustified ATC strikes.'

EasyJet said: 'We are doing everything possible to minimise the impact to our customers and we are offering anyone flying to and from Italy during those times the opportunity to transfer their flight free of charge to another day to avoid the strike.'