BRU, Brussels Airlines call for end to national strikes

Belgium’s Joint Trade Union Front has been organizing strikes since January across multiple sectors, and the country’s aviation industry has called for strikers to protest in a way that will not harm aviation.

The Joint Trade Union Front, a collective of three of the largest unions in Belgium, organized one-day strikes each month from January through April to protest the national government, which plans to reform pensions and the labor market. The next nationwide strike is planned for June 25.

[caption id="attachment_57289475" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Brussels Airport handles cargo at Brucargo West. (Courtesy/BRU)[/caption] Brussels Airport (BRU), Brussels Airlines and charter airline TUI fly released a joint statement last week calling for the unions “to take a different approach” because repeated strikes “are having a disproportionate impact on ... the aviation sector.”

Alternate forms of expression BRU, Brussels Airlines and TUI fly said they are not trying to silence the unions or impinge on anyone’s right to protest. They are asking the unions to reconsider this form of protest.

“Social dialogue is important to us and we are in regular and direct contact with the different parties involved, including the social partners of our service providers,” a BRU spokesperson told Cargo Facts . “Of course, the right to strike and freedom of expression must be respected. However ... there are other ways to take action and engage in dialogue, without completely halting air traffic.”

Brussels Airlines does not operate freighters but carries cargo between BRU and sub-Saharan African destinations on its passenger A330s, the carrier told Cargo Facts .

“While we are undeniably affected by the ongoing national demonstrations, the core of this conflict lies between the government and the unions,” a Brussels Airlines spokesperson said. “Our role is not to intervene in these societal negotiations, but to focus on maintaining stability.”

The involved unions did not respond to requests for comment from Cargo Facts .

Effects on aviation The Feb. 13 protest had the largest impact on aviation in Belgium, when skeyes, Belgium’s air traffic control provider, joined the strike, effectively closing Belgian airspace from 6:45 a.m. to 10:15 p.m. Airport security and handling personnel have also joined these strikes.

“Even though most cargo flights were able to operate, there was an impact on belly cargo,” the BRU spokesperson said.

An unidentified cargo handling partner also went on strike at BRU in late April and some cargo flights had to be canceled, the airport said.

“At airports, even a small number of strikers can disrupt operations and force a complete shutdown, severely impacting passengers and airlines,” Brussels Airlines Chief Executive Dorothea von Boxberg said in the June 6 statement.

BRU reported a cargo throughput of 733,000 tonnes in 2024, up 5% from 2023, and the airport’s cargo division welcomed four new airlines, BRU said in a January release. The new airlines are:

FarCargo ; LATAM Cargo ; Lufthansa Cargo ; and Virgin Atlantic . “The strikes this year have already cost the Belgian economy 100 million euros ($114.8 million),” BRU CEO Arnaud Feist said in the release. “With each strike, a whole chain is affected, from the individual passenger to the airlines, from the export companies to the cargo processing, from the travel agencies to the Belgian hotels. Moreover, these many national union actions damage the reputation of our airport and our country in general, which is no longer tenable.”

Editor’s note: All amounts have been converted to U.S. dollars.

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