Air traffic controllers are slowing down at Cairo International Airport, Egypt's main airport, in protest over promised pay.

As many as 3,000 passengers were left stranded as 80% of flights were delayed on Thursday.

The strike started after a promised bonus was cancelled. Four hours after the protest began on Wednesday, Egypt's state news agency, MENA, reported it had ended. Yet, when passengers arrived Thursday they found the slowdowns continued.

The go-slow is still ongoing until this morning, despite what was said about the controllers' intention to allow internal flights to resume, an anonymous airport staff member told Reuters.

Angry passengers have bombarded airport officials and some even broke into the tax authority office to pressure an end to the protest.

Traveler Meg Conner, a Canadian teacher in Egypt, was attempting to head for Greece when she got caught up in the airport chaos.

People were pushing and yelling. Airport workers climbed on the conveyor belts and started screaming, Connor told The Associated Press. It was the worst I have seen in my life.

Connor's flight had already been delayed by three hours with no departure in sight. Many passengers sat on the floor and waited, watching a board of departures that stood still.

This protest is only one in a long line of labor protests since the revolution on Jan. 25. The Egyptians were successful in bringing down President Hosni Mubarak in February, but there is still a long way to go.

The economy and tourism industries have declined immensely due to the uprising, and foreign reserves are 33% less than what they were in 2010.

MENA reported that tourism has dropped by about 35% in the second quarter, leaving the previously crowded pyramids and beaches deserted. This delay with an already low tourism industry could have devastating effects.

Egypt Egypt Egypt