Brussels Airlines crew and pilots will go on a three-day strike from Thursday 23 June until Saturday 25 June, the airline company announced on Tuesday. The preliminary projected impacts on travel during those days will be the cancellation of 315 flights, including 38 long-haul flights.
533 flights were planned for the three affected days, serving 70,000 passengers, Brussels Airlines noted in a press release. The airline plans to keep 40% of the scheduled flights in operation, though this may change depending on the participation of crew and pilots in the strike. With the cancellation of 315 flights, 40,000 passengers are expected to be impacted.
The airline stated they are trying to find alternative solutions for the cancelled flights both inside the Lufthansa group and outside. Currently, one solution is operating three long-haul planes to account for three flights to Nice and four to Rome. The airline plans to have all impacted passengers informed by the end of the day Tuesday, they said.
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The national strike on Monday resulted in the cancellation of all flights from Brussels Airport as the absence of striking security personnel posed a security threat to airport operations.
The strike has been called by crews and pilots who are burdened with heavy workloads and worsening work conditions, made worse by the high number of travellers during the summer holiday season and the lifting of pandemic restrictions. Workers are urging management to reduce the high work pressure and index their "cafeteria plan" – a budget for extra-legal benefits.
Ryanair personnel are also going on a similar three-day strike this week from Friday 24 June to Sunday 26 June. This is expected to have further impacts on flight cancellations.
