Belgium strike causes mass flight cancellations and train chaos
80,000 airline passengers have had their travel plans wrecked
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Your support makes all the difference.A general strike in Belgium has grounded all flights to and from the country’s airports for 24 hours.
Public-sector workers are stopping work in support of pay demands. The strike began at 10pm on Tuesday evening and will continue to 10pm today.
Around 500 flights to and from the main airport, Brussels, have been grounded. Antwerp and Charleroi airports are also closed, with some flights diverted.
While Belgian airspace is open for overflights, concerns over filling crucial roles for handling arriving and departing flights led to the air-traffic organisation, Skeyes, ordering the ground stop late on Tuesday.
Brussels Airlines has cancelled more than 200 flights. It is operating 11 services on Wednesday: four of them intra-Africa links and the remainder long-haul flights which will arrive in the Belgian capital after the strike has ended.
Brussels Airport is telling passengers: “Although the terminal remains open, we kindly ask our passengers not to come to the airport on Wednesday.
“Passengers whose flight is affected by the general strike are requested to contact their airline.”
British Airways said: “Like other airlines we have been forced to cancel our flights to/from Brussels on Wednesday 13 February.
“We are contacting customers by SMS if their flight is cancelled.
“Affected customers have a number of options, including re-routing to/from Amsterdam, Paris or Rotterdam, travelling on a different date, or applying for a refund.”
Ryanair has diverted some flights serving Charleroi airport to Niederrhein airport in Germany.
The Independent estimates that around 80,000 travellers will be affected by the cancellations. Under European air passengers’ rights rules, they are entitled to accommodation, meals and alternative flights, but no cash compensation is payable.
Eurocontrol, which is based in Brussels, has warned that flights using Amsterdam may also be affected, saying: “Moderate to high delays due to Belgian industrial action.”
Rail services are also heavily disrupted. The Belgian rail firms says: “We understand and regret that this strike may interfere with your business and personal plans and travels.
“In order to deal with the limited number of trains running, we will put in place an alternative train service in accordance with staff availability.”
Eurostar services are unaffected by the strike, but a round-trip from London St Pancras to Brussels has been cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday “in order to carry out essential maintenance, following the adverse weather last week”.
Passengers can change to an alternative train or cancel for a full refund.
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