Flights cancelled as Brussels Airlines’ staff stage 24-hour strike
Passengers face cancellations today (Monday) as staff at Brussels Airline stage a 24-hour strike. The strike that coincides with the busy travel week before Christmas is part of an ongoing dispute between management and the unions at what is the largest airline at Zaventem Airport near Brussels.
The unions have long warned that strike action was imminent. Staff at Brussels Airlines have a long list of grievances including the heavy workload that has come about due to colleagues being off sick or being forced to quarantine due to the pandemic. Furthermore, the unions say that agreements made in 2019 as part of a new collective labour agreement are not being respected. Something that management at the airline denies.
Airline staff also say that they have been given additional responsibilities related to the pandemic, such as the enforcement of mandatory face covering policies. This has sometimes led to aggressive behaviour by passengers and even in disgruntled passengers assaulting airline staff.
The strike got under way at 5am on Monday and will end at 5am on Tuesday.