12 March strike: no flights departing from Zaventem or Charleroi

No passenger flights will depart from Brussels Airport on 12 March due to a national trade union protest in Brussels affecting several sectors.

Charleroi Airport will be unable to operate any scheduled flights at all, either departing or arriving.

“Passengers affected who were due to fly via Charleroi on 12 March will be contacted in the coming days and no later than Tuesday 10 March by their airline for a new booking or a refund,” the airport said.

This will be the eighth time since the beginning of 2025 that air traffic has been disrupted by a trade union action that is not aimed directly against the airport. Unions are protesting against broader changes at the federal level that they say will weaken the social safety net.

As a result of the demonstration against these measures, a large number of security personnel and ground staff at the airports will be on strike.

Brussels Airport said it had decided to cancel all departing passenger flights "in order to guarantee the safety of passengers and staff and to avoid long queues".

Affected airlines will notify passengers and inform them of their options. Passenger flights may still arrive on 12 March, but cancellations are also likely there.

A similar industrial action last year also led to regular cancellations of departing passenger flights. Brussels Airlines, the largest airline at Brussels Airport, has been offering its passengers the option of rebooking their flights scheduled for 12 March for several days now.

There were a total of seven industrial actions that disrupted air traffic to and from Brussels Airport last year, leading to 2,400 cancelled flights, 275,000 fewer passengers and an estimated financial burden of more than €15 million.

The airport operator criticised the impact of the actions on its activities, especially since they are not directed against the airport itself but rather against government measures.

Brussels Airlines reiterated its call for unions to take action in a different way, so that air traffic and the company are not repeatedly affected.

The national demonstration on 12 March will start in the morning at Brussels-North station. Brussels public transport operator Stib also expects significant disruption to its services.