Belgium woke up to an unusually quiet sky and eerily empty railway platforms on 26 November after the country’s three main trade-union federations launched the third and final day of a coordinated 72-hour strike.
The private-sector walk-out hit the mobility ecosystem hardest. Brussels Airport cancelled every departing flight and scrapped 110 of the 203 arrivals it had scheduled for the day, while Charleroi Airport warned passengers not to come to the terminal at all because security and baggage-handling teams were off the job. Low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, along with network airlines including British Airways and Brussels Airlines, pre-emptively pulled services, diverting some aircraft to Maastricht and Düsseldorf to avoid crew-duty infringements.
![Belgium’s 24-hour general strike grounds most flights and paralyses public transport]()
Beyond aviation, local buses, trams and metro lines in Brussels, Antwerp and Liège ran limited emergency timetables, and inter-city rail traffic was reduced to one train in five. Taxi ranks and shared-mobility operators reported a 180 % surge in demand, according to mobility-data provider BeMobile, underscoring the knock-on effect for commuters and business travellers.
The unions are protesting Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s draft pension and labour-market reforms as well as a 2026 budget plan that raises ticket taxes and cuts social-security spending. Employers’ groups estimate the three-day action will cost the economy €300 million, with Brussels Airlines alone putting its direct loss at €14 million.
Practically, companies with staff on assignment in Belgium are activating remote-work policies, asking travellers to reroute through Amsterdam or Paris, and advising employees that local immigration offices may also operate with skeleton staff. Mobility managers should expect residual disruption on 27 November as aircraft, crews and rolling stock reposition.
The private-sector walk-out hit the mobility ecosystem hardest. Brussels Airport cancelled every departing flight and scrapped 110 of the 203 arrivals it had scheduled for the day, while Charleroi Airport warned passengers not to come to the terminal at all because security and baggage-handling teams were off the job. Low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, along with network airlines including British Airways and Brussels Airlines, pre-emptively pulled services, diverting some aircraft to Maastricht and Düsseldorf to avoid crew-duty infringements.
Beyond aviation, local buses, trams and metro lines in Brussels, Antwerp and Liège ran limited emergency timetables, and inter-city rail traffic was reduced to one train in five. Taxi ranks and shared-mobility operators reported a 180 % surge in demand, according to mobility-data provider BeMobile, underscoring the knock-on effect for commuters and business travellers.
The unions are protesting Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s draft pension and labour-market reforms as well as a 2026 budget plan that raises ticket taxes and cuts social-security spending. Employers’ groups estimate the three-day action will cost the economy €300 million, with Brussels Airlines alone putting its direct loss at €14 million.
Practically, companies with staff on assignment in Belgium are activating remote-work policies, asking travellers to reroute through Amsterdam or Paris, and advising employees that local immigration offices may also operate with skeleton staff. Mobility managers should expect residual disruption on 27 November as aircraft, crews and rolling stock reposition.
