The industrial action in Belgium is not confined to local carriers. British Airways cancelled all Heathrow-to-Brussels rotations on 26 November, while Ryanair wiped its Charleroi schedule, including popular Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin connections. Eurostar also axed roughly half of its Brussels–Paris frequencies and warned that border queues could exceed two hours because French and Belgian police were operating minimum shifts.
The wide geographic footprint illustrates how labour disputes in a single EU member state can snarl multinational mobility chains. Freight forwarders reported that trucks heading for the North Sea ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge were held at improvised picket lines, delaying just-in-time deliveries for automotive and life-sciences clients.
![Airlines scrap UK-Belgium services as strike ripple spreads beyond borders]()
Travel-management companies (TMCs) say rebooking options are scarce: Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt and Paris-CDG are already at 90 % load factors ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving travel surge. Companies with critical engineers or sales teams are turning to virtual-meeting platforms or postponing site visits.
Legal counsel reminds employers that EU regulations obliging airlines to offer duty-of-care assistance still apply even when strikes occur, and that staff stranded overnight are entitled to accommodation and meals. Mobility managers should document all communications to comply with Belgium’s fairly strict posted-worker notification rules when schedules change at short notice.
The wide geographic footprint illustrates how labour disputes in a single EU member state can snarl multinational mobility chains. Freight forwarders reported that trucks heading for the North Sea ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge were held at improvised picket lines, delaying just-in-time deliveries for automotive and life-sciences clients.
Travel-management companies (TMCs) say rebooking options are scarce: Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt and Paris-CDG are already at 90 % load factors ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving travel surge. Companies with critical engineers or sales teams are turning to virtual-meeting platforms or postponing site visits.
Legal counsel reminds employers that EU regulations obliging airlines to offer duty-of-care assistance still apply even when strikes occur, and that staff stranded overnight are entitled to accommodation and meals. Mobility managers should document all communications to comply with Belgium’s fairly strict posted-worker notification rules when schedules change at short notice.
