Strike-related airspace closure in Belgium means all flights will be cancelled at Liege and Brussels airports tomorrow.
Brussels Airport confirmed to that, “due to the national demonstration on Thursday and the announced strike by air traffic controllers, the Belgian airspace will be closed [from 6.45am to 10.15pm]”.
And it warned customers of “a very busy day at Brussels Airport on Friday”, adding that it “regret[ed] the inconvenience caused by this union action”.
Brussels Airport handled just shy of 48,912 tonnes of flown cargo in February 2024, averaging around 1,745 tonnes a day, while Liege handles an average of 3,000 tonnes of freight a day.
Both are major players in the perishables market after a bid to shift freighter flights from Amsterdam Schiphol to surrounding hubs, and while many shippers will have already sent their flowers ahead of Valentine’s Day on Friday, last-minute shipments could be in jeopardy.
Liege Airport, which will also see no flights tomorrow, said it received some 730 tonnes of flowers a day, largely from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ecuador and Colombia.
Meanwhile, nearby airports such as Maastricht, Paris, Ostend, or Frankfurt could see an increase in traffic as carriers seek to re-route flights.
The strikes are in protest of the new Belgian government‘s plans to reform pensions and the labour market.