In Germany and Belgium, strikes are imminent in and around airports in the coming days. Collective negotiations with Lufthansa pilots have failed in the eastern neighbors and in Belgium the overburdened aviation police want to shut down airports. Dutch travelers may also be affected.
Talks between German airline Lufthansa and pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit have yielded nothing today, the union reports, which rejected an improved offer for a new collective labor agreement. It is now possible to strike at the airline, according to the union. A date or location has not yet been announced. In an earlier strike by the ground staff, Lufthansa had to cancel more than a thousand flights.
The two parties have been sitting around the table for weeks to prevent a strike, but it now seems that it can no longer be averted. Lufhansa previously agreed to a wage increase, but the pilots would also like to see an inflation correction from 2023. Pilot strikes were suspended while the talks lasted.
Possibly also strike at Zaventem
The airports of the Belgian Liège and Charleroi can expect disruption next week due to protests by the overloaded airport police. Striking officers want, among other things, to block access roads and to hold punctuality actions and count on a ‘great impact’. The national airport Brussels Airport in Zaventem is the next target, the unions announce.
The airport police say they can no longer do their job properly due to budget cuts. She is so short of manpower that there are holes in the rosters and the safety of the agents themselves and of travelers is at stake, says Luc Breugelmans of the ACOD trade union.
It is still unclear when exactly Charleroi and Zaventem, where many Dutch passengers depart or arrive, will have to deal with actions. Those in Liège, where freight is mainly transported, will start on Monday afternoon.
Hassle for months
These days it is extra busy at the airports because many people return from summer holidays. Air traffic in the Benelux and other European countries has been difficult for months, due to, among other things, personnel shortages and strikes by Ryanair personnel, for example.
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