Brussels Airport cancels all departing flights on Monday, airlines in split | Abroad
“We will cancel all fleeing flights tomorrow if we don’t want to ensure the safety of passengers and staff,” Brussels Airport reported to VTM Nieuws on Monday.
Earlier in the evening, Brussels Airport spoke of about 300 controlled flights, of which 157 were departing flights. In total, this amounted to about 70 percent of all scheduled flights. However, for security reasons, Brussels Airport now says it will cancel all departing flights.
The airport operator is mainly concerned about problems with security screening. Because it will be lean, it will be developed for hours of effort. The schedules could start at scheduled times.
Departing airlines therefore already have documents several times not to depart on Monday if possible and to rebook their flight, and airlines were intended to cancel flights.
Airlines
Brussels Airlines, the largest player at Brussels Airport, is still puzzling over a solution. “We are now reviewing the flight plan,” spokeswoman Kim Daenen said on Sunday evening. The airline had already canceled more than half of its flights, but is expanding that to all flights. Only eight transit flights that do not require a security check can continue. “Flight, Passengers will be informed by e-mail this evening,” says Daenen. “We are doing everything we can to look for alternative solutions with them. We ask our customers not to come to the airport tomorrow if their flight is cancelled, we cannot rebook them there.”
Airline company TUI Fly Belgium already diverts a large part of its flights to the regional airports of Ostend, Antwerp and Liège. In a response to Monday’s cancellations, the airline is allowing two more flights to take off from Ostend. TUI Fly is also moving two flights to Tuesday. “We do not cancel flights. Our goal is to get all travelers to their destination,” said spokeswoman Florence Bruyère.
action day
The cancellations are the result of the national day of action of the trade unions for purchasing power, with large demonstrations in Brussels on Monday. There will be strikes at various airport companies, such as security and handlers. A number of catering establishments at the airport will also be closed.
More strikes are planned for the week in Belgium’s aviation sector. Brussels Airlines flying staff want to lay down their work from Thursday to Saturday. They complain about the high workload. Brussels Airlines has already taken on extra staff and will not cut it enough this summer.
Ryanair cabin crew, which flies from both Zaventem and Brussels South Charleroi airport, want to go on strike from Friday to Sunday. The pursers, stewards and flight attendants of the price fighter do this out of solidarity with Spanish colleagues. Negotiations about the collective labor agreement were extensive there.
High working pressure
The European aviation sector is struggling to meet the demand for air travel. Security guards and baggage handlers at airports in particular complain about the great workload now that some of their colleagues have not left during the corona pandemic. Now that the number of flights is increasing again, there is too much work for the joint staff.
Schiphol this week to set a maximum number of travelers per day in July. must prevent unsafe situations. The step is that flights have to be cancelled.
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