Cargo operators using Liège Airport (LGG) are bracing for delays after customs officials announced a series of so-called ‘punctuality actions’—slow-downs that strictly follow every step of the rule-book—starting Monday, 17 November. The protest responds to a management plan to overhaul staff rosters and night-shift premiums early next year.
Liège is Europe’s sixth-largest air-freight hub and a critical e-commerce entry point for Belgian fulfilment centres serving Amazon and Alibaba marketplaces. Forwarders fear that even minor document-processing holdups could cascade into missed trucking slots on the E40 and E42 corridors, jeopardising next-day deliveries across the Benelux and western Germany. DHL Express and Cainiao have contingency teams on standby to re-route select high-value consignments to Brussels (BRU) or Leipzig (LEJ) if clearance delays exceed two hours.
![Customs ‘Punctuality’ Strike to Hit Liège Airport Cargo Flows from 17 November]()
Under Belgian labour law, customs strikes do not halt operations entirely but oblige officers to clear time-sensitive perishables and live animals first, leaving general cargo in a queue. Logistics providers expect peak backlogs in the late evening bank when Asia-origin freighters arrive; pharmaceutical shippers with temperature-controlled payloads are reportedly negotiating paid priority clearance windows.
Global mobility managers should alert expatriates expecting household goods or critical spare-parts shipments via Liège that hand-over dates could slip. Firms operating temporary storage should review cold-chain resilience and insurance coverage for demurrage fees, which carriers typically pass on to consignees during work-to-rule actions.
Customs unions say they will reassess the action on 30 November. A breakthrough in talks with Finance Minister Alexia Bertrand could still avert protracted disruption, but negotiation calendars are tight amid broader public-sector unrest.
Liège is Europe’s sixth-largest air-freight hub and a critical e-commerce entry point for Belgian fulfilment centres serving Amazon and Alibaba marketplaces. Forwarders fear that even minor document-processing holdups could cascade into missed trucking slots on the E40 and E42 corridors, jeopardising next-day deliveries across the Benelux and western Germany. DHL Express and Cainiao have contingency teams on standby to re-route select high-value consignments to Brussels (BRU) or Leipzig (LEJ) if clearance delays exceed two hours.
Under Belgian labour law, customs strikes do not halt operations entirely but oblige officers to clear time-sensitive perishables and live animals first, leaving general cargo in a queue. Logistics providers expect peak backlogs in the late evening bank when Asia-origin freighters arrive; pharmaceutical shippers with temperature-controlled payloads are reportedly negotiating paid priority clearance windows.
Global mobility managers should alert expatriates expecting household goods or critical spare-parts shipments via Liège that hand-over dates could slip. Firms operating temporary storage should review cold-chain resilience and insurance coverage for demurrage fees, which carriers typically pass on to consignees during work-to-rule actions.
Customs unions say they will reassess the action on 30 November. A breakthrough in talks with Finance Minister Alexia Bertrand could still avert protracted disruption, but negotiation calendars are tight amid broader public-sector unrest.
