Baggage handler Swissport on strike at Brussels Airport

Employees of baggage handler Swissport stopped working at 5.00 this morning at Brussels Airport, write various Belgian media. According to the airport operator, the action is causing delays for the airlines that work with Swissport, and some of the flights are departing without luggage. A first conciliation meeting this morning was unsuccessful, and the management and unions will therefore return to the negotiating table today at 14.00.

The strike also affects Brussels Airlines, which announced on Facebook that their flights are delayed by 30 minutes on average. The airline is advising passengers "to travel as light as possible" and, if possible, to carry hand luggage only.

Swissport handles baggage for many companies at Brussels Airport, such as Aer Lingus, Alitalia, Lufthansa, Ryanair and Thomas Cook. Flights on airlines handled by Aviapartner are unaffected by the strike.

The action is a protest against growing work pressure. "Swissport is not bringing on enough additional staff for the holiday period, and it should change more part-time contracts into full-time ones,” said Bjorn Vanden Eynde of the Christian trade union ACV-CSC in Het Laatste Nieuws.