A major trade union strike will take place in Belgium on Monday. Employees of the transport sector, among others, will express their dissatisfaction. Travelers will experience major difficulties. The first flights have already been canceled – the national carrier Brussels Airlines will not operate several flights to Warsaw and a flight to Krakow on Monday.
Difficulties and long delays for both planes arriving and departing from Brussels also announced the airport in Charleroi near Brussels, used by low-cost airline operators such as Ryanair and Wizzair. However, the airport did not inform about its intention to cancel flights completely.
Union members will take to the streets
On Monday, members of trade unions, including those representing workers in the transport, education and prison sectors, will take to the streets in Belgium to protest against pension reforms and austerity measures announced by the new government (this has not happened yet, as coalition talks have been ongoing for months).
The strike means not only major difficulties for the inhabitants of the Belgian capital, where protesters will march through the streets, but also major problems for travelers. Brussels airport in Zaventem has already announced that it expects “serious difficulties”. “A large number of flights will be delayed or canceled. Airlines will inform passengers directly about the flight status,” Brussels airport spokeswoman Ihsane Chioua Lekhli said in a statement.
Inconvenience to travelers
On Saturday, the national air carrier Brussels Airlines announced that it had canceled half of the departures planned for Monday and that passengers would be offered new travel dates. Those canceled include: flights to Poland, including flights to Warsaw at 7.35, 9.25 and 15.20 and flight to Krakow at 10.40.
Lines They appeal to passengers to monitor their travel status on an ongoing basis.
Also canceled were: flights to Munich, Milan, Amsterdam, Budapest and Marseille.
Brussels Airlines announced in a statement that the strike participants include, among others: employees of companies dealing with delivering and sorting passengers' luggage, hence the airport management asked the carrier to cancel a large number of flights scheduled for Monday as a “precautionary measure”.
Belgian railway operators also warned of disruptions, SNCB and Infrabelwho informed passengers that due to the strikes some trains may be seriously delayed and some connections canceled. In Brussels, passengers of public transport, including the metro, may also experience difficulties. The capital transport company STIB advised Brussels residents to consider alternative methods of transport, such as a taxi, bicycle or electric scooter. Brussels residents have also been warned that their rubbish may not be collected on Monday.
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