‘Race to the bottom’: Brussels airports cancel hundreds of flights as workers go on strike

Belgium’s busiest airports warned passengers most of their flights will be cancelled on Tuesday as thousands of airport workers go on strike and join a protest in the country's capital.

All departing flights from Brussels Zaventem airport in the city’s north have been cancelled, the airport’s managers first posted on social media platform X on Friday. Many of the arriving flights have similarly been cancelled, online flight information shows.

Passengers expecting to travel from Brussels Charleroi will also face headaches, with hundreds of departing flights put on ice. Belgian media reports around 42,000 passengers will be affected.

The deficit of security staff is too large to ensure safe operations, an airport spokesperson said.

According to local press, roughly 1,000 cleaners, security staff and hospitality workers from varying European trade unions will demonstrate in the heart of the EU, calling for improved working conditions and wages.

The demonstration kicks off at 10 am CET outside the Charleroi airport.

Belgium’s largest trade union, the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions, said protesters aim to take action against the “high workload” and “poor working conditions” at the airport.

This includes inappropriate work temperatures, expensive parking and overpriced and limited facilities for staff. “Despite repeated signals to the airport operator … solutions are still lacking,” the union said in an online statement.

Another protest is scheduled in the European quarter reportedly calling for adjustments to the EU's public procurement rules that allegedly foster harmful working conditions across the bloc.

Workers from France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Spain, and Finland will attend the Brussels airport protest to voice their concerns about proposed procurement revisions.

The protest is being spearheaded by European trade union federations UNI Europa and Effat, Belgian media reports. Over 100 experts signed a letter spearheaded by UNI Europa supporting the strike, which they say aims to “stop the race to the bottom”.

The EU's current procurement process amplifies certain “market conditions” that can disregard certain criteria, such as labour rights and fair working conditions, the letter states.

“As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a revision to public procurement guidelines in her next mandate, we support essential workers and European trade unions in their fight to ensure fair labour standards, strengthen collective bargaining and workers’ voice within these outsourced services,” the letter said.

The European Commission has not commented publicly on the matter.