A winter front that lingered after New Year’s Eve continued to wreak havoc on Belgium’s multi-modal transport grid on 4 January, the first full working day of 2026. Ground handlers at both Brussels and Liège airports reported de-icing queues twice the seasonal norm, with each aircraft needing an average 14-minute glycol spray—double the usual seven minutes.
Rail infrastructure manager Infrabel imposed a 20 km/h speed cap on exposed tracks in Wallonia, extending inter-city journeys by up to ten minutes and complicating Eurostar and Thalys connections at Brussels-South. Highway operator Viapass logged a spike in minor accidents on the E40 near Namur, underscoring the cross-sector impact.
Corporate travel desks scrambled to re-book delayed staff returning from holiday. Some manufacturers shifted urgent components from passenger belly-hold to dedicated freighters as slots opened at Liège Cargo Airport. Mobility advisers recommend building extra layover buffers this week and checking airline waivers that allow free date changes.
![Nationwide Ice & Snow Snarl Belgian Planes and Trains as Workers Return from Holidays]()
For anyone worried that cascading delays might upset their visa timelines, VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) can arrange extensions, transit permits, or even replacement visas online in just a few clicks—handy when winter weather turns a short stopover into an unintended overstay.
Compliance angle: non-EU travellers close to exhausting their 90-day Schengen allowance should document force-majeure delays. Immigration auditors increasingly ask for boarding-pass stubs and weather alerts when reviewing overstay defences.
The RMI forecasts a gradual thaw by the weekend, but airport authorities warn that de-icing-fluid stocks are running low after the busiest Christmas peak since 2019. Companies with time-critical travel should maintain contingency plans until normal operations resume.
Rail infrastructure manager Infrabel imposed a 20 km/h speed cap on exposed tracks in Wallonia, extending inter-city journeys by up to ten minutes and complicating Eurostar and Thalys connections at Brussels-South. Highway operator Viapass logged a spike in minor accidents on the E40 near Namur, underscoring the cross-sector impact.
Corporate travel desks scrambled to re-book delayed staff returning from holiday. Some manufacturers shifted urgent components from passenger belly-hold to dedicated freighters as slots opened at Liège Cargo Airport. Mobility advisers recommend building extra layover buffers this week and checking airline waivers that allow free date changes.
For anyone worried that cascading delays might upset their visa timelines, VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) can arrange extensions, transit permits, or even replacement visas online in just a few clicks—handy when winter weather turns a short stopover into an unintended overstay.
Compliance angle: non-EU travellers close to exhausting their 90-day Schengen allowance should document force-majeure delays. Immigration auditors increasingly ask for boarding-pass stubs and weather alerts when reviewing overstay defences.
The RMI forecasts a gradual thaw by the weekend, but airport authorities warn that de-icing-fluid stocks are running low after the busiest Christmas peak since 2019. Companies with time-critical travel should maintain contingency plans until normal operations resume.
