Update
Due to a strike action by air traffic controller Skeyes, there was no air traffic at Belgian airports last night. There is dissatisfaction about the agreements regarding the digital control center in Namur. Air traffic has resumed at Brussels Airport since 7 a.m., the other airports will follow at 9:30 a.m.
Source: Belga
Due to the strike action, fifteen flights were canceled this morning at the airport Charleroi. All flights before 8am have either been canceled or delayed. In addition to the fifteen cancellations, thirteen flights were also delayed at just after 6 am.
At the airport of Zaventem no passenger flights will be canceled due to the strike action. There will be delays, spokesman Quentin Mertens confirmed last night. About 25 flights will depart later than planned and two arriving flights will be diverted to other airports early in the morning. It is still unclear how serious the delays will be. “Cargo flights will also experience an impact, although it is difficult to put a concrete number on that,” says Mertens.
Brussels Airport promises to keep its partners and passengers as informed as possible about the consequences of the strike action.
Also at the airport Shutter there will be disruption, spokesman Christian Delcourt confirmed. About twenty flights there will be affected by the action, although it is still unclear whether this concerns only delays or also cancellations.
Digital control center
The action follows negotiations on an agreement with the unions on the digital control center in Namur. This center will become operational in the course of next year and will be responsible for managing the traffic of aircraft taking off and landing, as well as all ground movements, in Charleroi and Liège.
Earlier in the day, management and the unions had discussed the transition measures, working conditions and support measures. The preliminary agreement has already been accepted by the largest trade union organization, which represents the majority of air traffic controllers.