Brussels Airport cancels all departing passenger flights on Monday

Brussels Airport cancels all departing passenger flights on Monday, the day of the national strike day of the trade unions.

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Earlier in the day it had already been announced that 157 departing and 146 arriving flights would be cancelled, but in the course of Sunday evening it became clear that no flight would depart from Brussels Airport on Monday. “We cannot guarantee the safety of travelers,” said spokeswoman Nathalie Pierard on Sunday evening. Initially, a total of about 440 flights were programmed.

The cancellations are the result of the national day of action of the unions for purchasing power on Monday, with a large demonstration in Brussels. There will be strikes at various airport companies, such as security and handlers. A number of catering establishments at the airport may also be closed.

The airport operator is mainly concerned about problems with security screening. Because it will be poorly staffed, there had been warnings about hours-long waiting times. A new update of the expected situation for the national day of action on Monday revealed that even fewer staff members from security firm G4S will man the security screening than expected. As a result, waiting times threatened to exceed the estimated eight hours, and the decision was made to cancel all departing passenger flights.

The spokesperson for Brussels Airport does not rule out the possibility that there could be longer waiting times at the airport on Tuesday, ‘but certainly not in the same order of magnitude’ as the expected waiting times on Monday. That is because extra flights have been scheduled on Tuesday and therefore more passengers will come to the airport.

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