Belgian national strike grounds flights, hits public transport
Belgian airports cancelled almost all flights on Wednesday as a national strike over pay and working conditions halted activity at ports, hit public transport and led to factory blockades.
Air traffic control body Skeyes shut Belgian airspace for 24 hours from 10 pm (2100 GMT) on Tuesday because it could not guarantee enough staff would turn up.
Belgian airspace is at a crucial intersection between major airports in London, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt and is among the busiest in Europe.
Brussels Airport, the country’s busiest hub, said it had planned to handle 591 passenger and cargo departures and arrivals and that the strike would hit some 60,000 travellers.
Just one passenger flight, to Moscow, would depart late on Wednesday, with a few late arrivals and some cargo flights, Brussels Airport said.
Planes can still travel over Belgium, under guidance from Eurocontrol, but only above 24,500 feet (7,500 metres). Its operations website showed that Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport was suffering moderate to high delays due to the Belgian strike.
National rail operator SNCB said about half of its train services were running. Highspeed Thalys, running to Amsterdam and Paris, said it should be running normal services, though catering might not be available on all trains. Some Eurostar trains to London were cancelled due to maintenance.