Belgium’s largest general strike in four decades reached its climax on 26 November, paralysing airports, rail hubs and city networks and throwing corporate travel plans into disarray.
At Brussels Airport, all departing flights and 110 of 203 scheduled arrivals were cancelled after security-screening and ground-handling staff joined the walk-out. Charleroi South Airport shut down entirely, while Antwerp and Ostend-Bruges reported only limited activity. More than 60,000 business and leisure passengers were affected, according to the airport operator. Airlines including Brussels Airlines, British Airways and Ryanair activated rerouting and refund policies, but many travellers were forced to postpone meetings or work remotely.
![National strike cripples Belgian air and ground transport on final day]()
On the rails, only one in five domestic trains operated and Eurostar trimmed its timetable to a “Saturday-style” service, running roughly half of its Brussels–Paris frequencies and cancelling a quarter of Brussels–Amsterdam/London trips. Urban transport in Brussels, Antwerp and Liège was reduced to skeleton metro and bus services, complicating airport detours and last-mile commutes for assignees.
The three-day strike—called by socialist, Christian-democrat and liberal unions—protests pension-age hikes, a new “air-ticket solidarity tax” and spending cuts designed to shave €9.2 billion off Belgium’s deficit by 2029. Employers’ federations warned that sustained unrest could erode Belgium’s attractiveness as a regional headquarters location, noting that multinational HR teams were already re-routing travellers via Paris-CDG and Düsseldorf.
Practical take-away: mobility managers should advise travellers to reconfirm flights for 27–28 November, allow extra time for security queues as staff numbers normalise, and carry digital copies of residence permits in case municipal offices remain backlogged. Companies with posted workers should also verify that any delayed renewals obtain temporary “annexe 15/49” extensions to avoid status lapses.
At Brussels Airport, all departing flights and 110 of 203 scheduled arrivals were cancelled after security-screening and ground-handling staff joined the walk-out. Charleroi South Airport shut down entirely, while Antwerp and Ostend-Bruges reported only limited activity. More than 60,000 business and leisure passengers were affected, according to the airport operator. Airlines including Brussels Airlines, British Airways and Ryanair activated rerouting and refund policies, but many travellers were forced to postpone meetings or work remotely.
On the rails, only one in five domestic trains operated and Eurostar trimmed its timetable to a “Saturday-style” service, running roughly half of its Brussels–Paris frequencies and cancelling a quarter of Brussels–Amsterdam/London trips. Urban transport in Brussels, Antwerp and Liège was reduced to skeleton metro and bus services, complicating airport detours and last-mile commutes for assignees.
The three-day strike—called by socialist, Christian-democrat and liberal unions—protests pension-age hikes, a new “air-ticket solidarity tax” and spending cuts designed to shave €9.2 billion off Belgium’s deficit by 2029. Employers’ federations warned that sustained unrest could erode Belgium’s attractiveness as a regional headquarters location, noting that multinational HR teams were already re-routing travellers via Paris-CDG and Düsseldorf.
Practical take-away: mobility managers should advise travellers to reconfirm flights for 27–28 November, allow extra time for security queues as staff numbers normalise, and carry digital copies of residence permits in case municipal offices remain backlogged. Companies with posted workers should also verify that any delayed renewals obtain temporary “annexe 15/49” extensions to avoid status lapses.
