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Brussels Airlines
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- SN/BEL
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Brussels Airport
- Year Founded:
- 2006
- Alliance:
- Star Alliance
- Airline Group:
- Lufthansa Group
- CEO:
- Dorothea von Boxberg
- Country:
- Belgium
- Region:
- Europe
- Loyalty Program:
- Miles & More
Unions representing the Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines pilots have issued an indefinite strike warning. The dates will likely coincide with the summer holidays, and further details will be announced next Wednesday (June 15th).
The announcement came after representatives of the three unions met with Brussels Airlines leadership on Tuesday (June 7th) to discuss options for resolving ongoing working condition issues. Maaike Andries, a spokesperson for Brussels Airlines, expressed optimism about continuing the negotiations:
"We regret that the conciliation meeting with the social partners on Tuesday, June 7 did not result in an agreement.
"We hope that the discussions with the social partners can still be continued in order to find effective solutions for the coming summer. A strike at the beginning of the summer would come at the worst possible time for our passengers, for all our colleagues and for our company which is still trying to climb out of the red every day."
The issuing of a strike notice does not necessarily preclude industrial action. The unions are now waiting for a response from Brussels Airlines' management.
A second strike notice within the year
A recent survey found that 90% of pilots supported a strike. All three of Belgium's labor unions, The socialist trade union BBTK, the Christian trade union ACV, and the liberal trade union ACLVB have backed the action. The unions claim that management at Brussels Airlines and parent Lufthansa Group have not worked to resolve the issues raised or improve working conditions.
Pilots also went on strike at the end of last year over working conditions and pay. The strike canceled almost half of the flights on the first day of Belgium's Christmas holidays. Around a quarter of passengers through Brussels Airport were affected, amounting to roughly 3,500 flyers. The strike cost the airline €2.5 million ($2.82 million), a charge which it previously threatened to charge the unions.
The airline's response to union demands
Airlines across Europe have been facing staffing shortages in recent months. The Lufthansa Group has been significantly affected, with the German flag carrier and subsidiary Eurowings cutting almost a thousand flights from its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.
Brussels Airlines recently let a recruiting drive to compensate for industry shortages and brought onboard 225 additional cabin crew members, many of whom have experience at Brussels Airlines to meet demand. The Star Alliance carrier is also working with the maintenance department at its Brussels hub to recruit extra staff members for ground handling operations.
"Our staff has expressed concern that the workload is too high under these exceptional circumstances. We have listened to them and taken action to ease the workload." The airline said in a statement. "We are amongst others canceling 148 flights, for which there are sufficient alternatives available to passengers".
The flights in question will impact less than 1% of passengers. The cuts came from a schedule entirely within the agreements of the current collective labor agreement, the airline emphasized.
Representatives from the unions say the route cuts are not enough to reduce the workload and are pushing for COVID-related salary cuts to be revoked. The airline's pilots agreed to a wage decrease of 10% during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent major restructuring and are looking to regain at least a portion of it now that travel has rebounded.