New data released on Friday (26 December 2025) show that seven days of industrial action at Brussels Airport this year forced the cancellation of 2,395 flights and disrupted the journeys of roughly 330,000 passengers. Belgian MP Kjell Vander Elst said each strike day wiped €25 million off the national economy, bringing the annual hit to nearly €175 million.
The walk-outs — staged by ground handlers, air-traffic controllers and public-sector unions protesting wage and pension reforms — reverberated through the hub’s extensive intercontinental network. Airlines rerouted wide-body jets to Amsterdam and Paris, while corporate travel managers scrambled to re-book staff through secondary airports in Antwerp and Liège. Holidaymakers faced queues at ticket counters for re-accommodation and, in many cases, no statutory EU261 compensation because the stoppages were deemed “extraordinary circumstances”.
Travellers and mobility coordinators aiming to stay agile under such conditions can streamline visa procurement through VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/). The platform offers real-time application tracking, rapid Schengen processing, and guidance on multi-country itineraries—so if re-routing through Amsterdam, Paris, or beyond becomes necessary, staff and holidaymakers alike can avoid last-minute border frustrations.
![Brussels Airport counted 2,400 strike-related flight cancellations in 2025, costing €175 million]()
Airport management warns that the reputational damage could deter carriers from adding new routes just as Brussels competes to attract additional North American and Asian services. The federal government has signalled it will double its air-passenger tax to €10 by 2027, a move critics say further undermines competitiveness.
For global-mobility teams the headline risk is reliability. Assignment planners should avoid tight same-day connections through Brussels and build contingency budgets for possible 2026 actions; unions have hinted at further protests if talks on pension reform stall in the spring. Travellers should also note that some insurers now exclude strike-related costs from standard policies unless a premium rider is purchased.
Meanwhile, cargo operators are lobbying for strike-exemption status, citing perishables and pharma goods that transit via Belgium’s “pharma corridor.” The political debate on balancing labour rights with critical-infrastructure resilience is set to intensify ahead of regional elections in June 2026.
The walk-outs — staged by ground handlers, air-traffic controllers and public-sector unions protesting wage and pension reforms — reverberated through the hub’s extensive intercontinental network. Airlines rerouted wide-body jets to Amsterdam and Paris, while corporate travel managers scrambled to re-book staff through secondary airports in Antwerp and Liège. Holidaymakers faced queues at ticket counters for re-accommodation and, in many cases, no statutory EU261 compensation because the stoppages were deemed “extraordinary circumstances”.
Travellers and mobility coordinators aiming to stay agile under such conditions can streamline visa procurement through VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/). The platform offers real-time application tracking, rapid Schengen processing, and guidance on multi-country itineraries—so if re-routing through Amsterdam, Paris, or beyond becomes necessary, staff and holidaymakers alike can avoid last-minute border frustrations.
Airport management warns that the reputational damage could deter carriers from adding new routes just as Brussels competes to attract additional North American and Asian services. The federal government has signalled it will double its air-passenger tax to €10 by 2027, a move critics say further undermines competitiveness.
For global-mobility teams the headline risk is reliability. Assignment planners should avoid tight same-day connections through Brussels and build contingency budgets for possible 2026 actions; unions have hinted at further protests if talks on pension reform stall in the spring. Travellers should also note that some insurers now exclude strike-related costs from standard policies unless a premium rider is purchased.
Meanwhile, cargo operators are lobbying for strike-exemption status, citing perishables and pharma goods that transit via Belgium’s “pharma corridor.” The political debate on balancing labour rights with critical-infrastructure resilience is set to intensify ahead of regional elections in June 2026.
