A strike by airport policemen on Sunday forced Egyptian authorities to shut down an airport in the Mediterranean port of Alexandria and divert flights elsewhere, airport officials said.

Egyptian Civil Aviation ministry stated all flights will be diverted to Cairo International Airport.

The policemen at the Borg El-Arab airport in Egypt's second city were protesting against low salaries and demanding better working conditions, the officials said.

An airport employee told AFP that the policemen sat on the runway, preventing regional flights from taking off or landing.

The interior ministry has been plagued in recent weeks by a wave of industrial action by police which boiled over earlier this month into several nationwide strikes.