Belgium’s second-busiest passenger hub, Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), is bracing for almost a month of nightly walk-outs by air-traffic controllers after negotiations over bonus payments collapsed. State service provider Skeyes confirmed on Tuesday, 15 September, that staff assigned to the 22:00-08:00 shift will down tools every night from Wednesday, 16 September, through 10 October. The company’s internal modelling shows 832 commercial movements—487 arrivals and 345 departures—scheduled during that window and therefore at risk of cancellation or diversion. The dispute centres on a supplement for unsocial hours that controllers at Charleroi say has failed to keep up with inflation or match the premiums paid at Brussels Airport. Talks began in July but broke down last weekend when management’s latest offer was rejected by a 78 % majority of union members. Workers served the legally required 48-hour notice immediately after the vote, making the first walk-out unavoidable under Belgian labour law. While the strike technically targets night operations, airlines warn of knock-on effects on morning rotations. If aircraft cannot land between 22:00 and midnight, they will overnight elsewhere—often Ryanair bases in France or Italy—delaying the first wave of departures that feeds Europe’s hub-and-spoke network. Low-cost carriers, which account for 80 % of CRL traffic, say recovery slack is minimal at the tail end of the summer schedule, and they may be forced to re-route passengers via Brussels Airport or Lille. Business-travel managers are already adapting contingency plans. Several multinational firms with operations in Wallonia told The Brussels Times they will temporarily shift executives onto early-morning Eurostar services or Lufthansa feeder flights from Brussels Airport to avoid the risk of missed connections. The regional tourism board, meanwhile, fears reputational damage just as Charleroi was beginning to claw back traffic lost during the pandemic. Skeyes says it remains open to mediation but insists any extra remuneration must be applied uniformly across its five control towers—an approach unions dismiss as ignoring Charleroi’s unique overnight workload. Passengers booked through 10 October are advised to check their flight status continuously and allow extra time for potential diversions or coach transfers between Belgian airports.
Source: The Brussels Times
