All flights canceled at Charleroi airport due to surprise strike

BRUSSELS — All flights at Brussels South Charleroi Airport were canceled Thursday due to a surprise strike affecting around 200 flights and 30,000 passengers.

The airport’s management said it was “very surprised that this action is taking place,” as the unions issued a notice of action on Sept. 4 calling for a possible strike “from Sept. 19,” the airport told the Belgian press.

“It is regrettable that passengers are being held hostage by these wild actions,” said Nathalie Pierard, the airport’s spokesperson.

A strike was announced for Thursday on Wednesday, but in the evening the Christian union Cne said there had been no official call for action by workers’ representatives.

The airport’s operational capacity was preventively reduced to 15 percent but this morning “we were not able to board passengers on planes,” Pierard told RTL Info.

The dispute concerns working conditions, and union representatives also complained about an “aggressive management policy.”

The airport’s flight schedule shows that two flights were diverted to Liège airport, while the rest were canceled.

Charleroi airport, located at about 60 kilometers south of Brussels, is mainly used by low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air, with a small number of flights operated by Air Corsica and Pegasus.

With nearly 9.4 million passengers in 2023, it’s the second busiest airport in Belgium after Brussels Airport.