A nationwide strike in Belgium on 26 November forced Brussels Airport to cancel all outbound flights, while rail and metro services were severely curtailed. The walk-out comes just weeks before Aegean Airlines is due to launch a publicly subsidised Larnaca-Brussels route that will serve officials during Cyprus’s EU Council Presidency. For Cypriot business travellers already booked on Brussels links via Athens or Vienna, Wednesday’s stoppage meant missed Schengen connection windows and lengthy re-routing.
Hermes Airports confirmed that three departing services from Larnaca destined for Brussels—operated by Aegean codeshares—were scrubbed, affecting roughly 480 passengers, including delegates heading to preparatory EU presidency meetings. Travel-management companies said clients faced extra hotel nights in Athens and Milan and warned of knock-on crew-rostering issues for Cyprus Airways, which leases aircraft that overnight in Brussels.
![Belgian General Strike Grounds Brussels Flights, Disrupts Cyprus-EU Travel Corridor]()
Under EU261 rules, passengers can claim meals and accommodation but not compensation because strikes are classed as ‘extraordinary circumstances’. Mobility managers should review duty-of-care policies, as further Belgian industrial action is scheduled for mid-December. The incident is an early reminder that Cyprus’s forthcoming six-month presidency will hinge on resilient air links to the EU capital; officials are pressing Aegean and Wizz Air for contingency charters.
Beyond immediate disruption, the strike underscores the vulnerability of Cyprus’s single-point air access to Brussels. The Transport Ministry is studying a back-up PSO tender for thrice-weekly Paphos-Charleroi flights to diversify risk and ensure that Cypriot civil-servants can reach EU institutions even during strikes at Zaventem.
Hermes Airports confirmed that three departing services from Larnaca destined for Brussels—operated by Aegean codeshares—were scrubbed, affecting roughly 480 passengers, including delegates heading to preparatory EU presidency meetings. Travel-management companies said clients faced extra hotel nights in Athens and Milan and warned of knock-on crew-rostering issues for Cyprus Airways, which leases aircraft that overnight in Brussels.
Under EU261 rules, passengers can claim meals and accommodation but not compensation because strikes are classed as ‘extraordinary circumstances’. Mobility managers should review duty-of-care policies, as further Belgian industrial action is scheduled for mid-December. The incident is an early reminder that Cyprus’s forthcoming six-month presidency will hinge on resilient air links to the EU capital; officials are pressing Aegean and Wizz Air for contingency charters.
Beyond immediate disruption, the strike underscores the vulnerability of Cyprus’s single-point air access to Brussels. The Transport Ministry is studying a back-up PSO tender for thrice-weekly Paphos-Charleroi flights to diversify risk and ensure that Cypriot civil-servants can reach EU institutions even during strikes at Zaventem.
