Brussels Airport, Brussels Airlines, and TUI Fly are expressing their concerns over the Belgian national strikes that have been happening since January of this year already costing the Belgian economy 100million euros and has affected over 180,000 passengers in the aviation sector.
How are the strikes affecting Belgiums’ primary airport?
Four days of industry action strikes over the last few months have left Brussels Airport and the relevant airlines to deal with the fallout. The industry action strikes, which were protesting the Belgian federal government, have caused flight delays, cancellations, and operational disruptions as well as having mass impact on Belgian’s economy. The aviation sector is the second-largest economic source for the country and therefore plays an important role in its financial stability. The repeated strikes have cost the Belgian economy millions in tourism, cargo, and business losses.
Brussels Airport respects the right of those who are choosing to strike however the impact on the aviation industry and on passengers has been sizeable and disruptive. Airlines are having to face increases in operational costs and higher workloads while trying to lower the impact on its passengers.
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport, has said this about the situation:
“As an airport, it is a painful decision we have to make with the partners every time to cancel flights due to a strike. Our passengers count on their flights for very different reasons, and we have had to disappoint them too many times this year because of these actions. The strikes this year have already cost the Belgian economy 100 million euros. 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.”
The Brussels Airport is a key international hub for the country, being Belgium’s primary airport, and therefore has taken the brunt of these strikes. The ongoing strikes are having a domino effect on all the other industries such as retail and hospitality, and is causing airlines to worry about their passengers leaving to use other airlines.
The impact on airlines and passengers
Brussels Airlines and TUI Fly have expressed their concerns over the matter. Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Brussels Airlines, said:
“The national demonstrations have already had a negative financial impact of €8 million, despite none of our employees being on strike. At airports, even a small number of strikers can disrupt operations and force a complete shutdown, severely impacting passengers and airlines. We work daily to serve our customers in the best way possible, but when operations are this heavily disrupted, we simply can’t. Another national strike day is planned in June right at the start of the busy summer season. Given the many passengers flying that day, we estimate an additional financial burden of €4 million. This is money that we cannot invest in what really matters: our passengers, our people, and the future of our company. On top of that, there is the risk that passengers will avoid Brussels and move to airlines operating from other airports in neighbouring countries. We urgently need alternative solutions to protect our shared future,”
On the next national strike day, June 25, it’s said that over 75 thousand passengers are expected to pass through Brussels Airport. With over 180 thousand passengers already affected by the strikes this year, airlines like TUI are also raising their concerns over how this will affect their passengers. Günther Hofman, Managing Director of TUI Fly Western Region has expressed his opinion on the issues:
“The ongoing national strikes and their impact on Brussels Airport undermine the travel comfort of our TUI passengers, who are forced to divert to other airports if they don’t want to lose vacation days or need to return on their scheduled date. This often significantly extends their travel time and requires additional transfers. The many recent strikes are damaging trust in our national airport.”
Customers of these airlines who have been affected by the strikes are having to rebook flights, adjust their accommodation, miss out on key events, as well as face the many delays and cancellations at Brussels Airport.
A request for alternative solutions
TUI Fly, Brussels Airlines, and Brussels Airport are asking unions to reconsider their approach to the strikes and their protests and come up with alternative solutions that do not disrupt air traffic. While they respect the unions’ decisions to express their dissatisfaction, the impact on the aviation sector as well as the country’s economy cannot be ignored. The upcoming strike in June is timed at one of the busiest times of the year, being right before the summer holidays, and presents extra challenges for the aviation and tourism sectors. The airports and airlines said they are committed to providing communication to passengers and do what they can to minimise the disruptions during any upcoming strikes. The stability of the industry is being threatened with more upcoming strikes happening in peak travel periods from July to September, and the uncertainty already caused by the previous strikes may see passengers go to other airports and use other airlines for their travel.
What do you think of how national strikes impact the aviation sector? Let us know in the comments!
