Brussels South Charleroi Airport, Belgium’s second-busiest passenger hub, has resumed normal operations after skeyes air-traffic controllers suspended nightly walk-outs for mediation. The industrial action, which began on 16 September and was scheduled to run every night until 10 October, had already grounded some 160 flights, disproportionately affecting Ryanair and Wizz Air rotations and rippling into early-morning schedules as crews and aircraft ended up out of position. Unions are demanding parity of night-shift bonuses with controllers at Liège Airport and better staffing ratios. Federal Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke brokered a ceasefire on Friday, appointing an external mediator acceptable to both parties. While the formal strike notice remains active, controllers have agreed to maintain services for at least four days while talks proceed. For airlines the suspension avoids a repeat of last week’s last-minute cancellations that forced re-routing of holiday traffic via Brussels Zaventem and Eindhoven. Under EU261 rules, passengers are unlikely to receive compensation for ATC-related disruption deemed an ‘extraordinary circumstance’, though carriers must still offer refunds or re-booking. Business-travel managers should keep contingency plans in place: if negotiations collapse, walk-outs could resume with 24-hour notice. Travellers with critical Monday-morning meetings may wish to favour flights into Brussels Zaventem or rail options via Eurostar until the dispute is definitively resolved.
Source: Travel Extra
