Update
At Brussels Airport, queues at a number of check-in counters take longer than usual on Monday morning. The reason for this is a spontaneous strike at Aviapartner, a service provider for various airlines. “The strike will cause delays for about 15 flights. Get to the airport on time,” said Jeffrey Franssens, spokesperson for Brussels Airport, earlier in the morning. Although there are no longer any major problems at most check-in desks, some travelers are starting their trip with some stress: “Our flight leaves in exactly an hour, so things are starting to get tense now.”
Source: Own reporting, Belga
“It is true that a spontaneous strike broke out at handler Aviapartner last night between 3:30 and 4 am,” says Jeffrey Franssens, spokesperson for Brussels Airport. This strike was felt for a while at some of the check-in counters, where there were long queues, and at boarding.
“About 15 flights are currently affected, with a delay of 1 to 2 hours,” the spokesperson said around 8:15 am. We do advise passengers to get to the airport on time. Finally, we regret this strike.”
Waiting for more than an hour
The inconvenience is not felt by all airlines, but Regine (62) and Dirk (64) from Poperinge in West Flanders are victims of the spontaneous strike. The couple arrived at the airport on time for their flight to Dublin, but had to wait at check-in for more than an hour. “Our flight leaves in exactly an hour, so things are starting to get tense now. Moreover, we have to take a train in Dublin, which we had reserved in advance. So we are in danger of missing it due to the strike here,” the two travelers said.
Regine and Dirk even spent the night at the Sheraton hotel at Brussels Airport, especially so they could get to the airport in plenty of time this morning. “And then this happens… It was our daughter who sent us a message this morning when she heard that a strike had broken out. Too bad, but nothing can be done about it. Now we hope that we will still get to Dublin on time.” Moreover, it is not the first time that the couple has been inconvenienced by a strike at Zaventem airport. “Every time we go on holiday, it is expensive. Do we understand it? It is clear why there is a strike. We do not know the reason today.”
Unexpected
Ben Lefevre (31) from Leuven had also been waiting at the check-in desk for the flight to Dublin for an hour on Monday morning. “I travel for work, but fortunately I have some time. Over the past 2 weeks I also had to go to Dublin every time, and everything went smoothly. When I arrived here at Zaventem I was surprised by the strike. I had not heard anything about it yet. Let’s hope we won’t be here for too long.”
Two baggage handlers are active at Brussels Airport. In addition to Aviapartner, Alyzia also has a contract at the airport. Brussels Airlines, the largest airline at Zaventem, works together with Alyzia. So there is no hindrance there. The flights of TUI fly, Ryanair, Iberia and British Airways are handled by Aviapartner, according to the Brussels Airport website. Around 9:30 am the queues at Aviapartner had largely disappeared and check-in should again go relatively smoothly.
