A number of flights from Dublin airport have been cancelled due to a strike by French air traffic controllers.

In Terminal 1, worried holiday-makers travelling with Ryanair crowded around screens looking for information about their flights.

“We left Gorey at 6.30am this morning,” said James Tomkins, who is travelling with seven members of his family to Malaga. “We only saw the delay after passing through security.”

His wife, Caitríona, said they had missed the transfer to their holiday resort in Spain. "We're only going for eight days," she said. "I'm just hoping the flight won't be cancelled."

Niall McCabe sat bleary eyed in the airport bar accompanied by his Leaving Cert classmates from Dundrum as they waited for flight updates.

“I’m pissed off and want to be in Magaluf,” he said. “I was out all night and only got home for 45 minutes. I’m probably just going to sit in the bar for the next few hours.”

The young men are heading off with a group of 15 friends for a week of fun in the sun on the island of Majorca.

“Most of our friends have gone to spend money in duty free,” said Cian O’Connor, also from Dundrum. “There’s no point in getting stressed, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

A Ryanair official confirmed that after a 2-hour delay Ryanair passengers would be entitled to a food voucher. If flights are three hours late passengers can return to the ticket desk to seek a full refund or reschedule their journey.