Brussels Airport Expects About 140 Cancellations on Friday as Ground Handlers Join a National Protest

Brussels Airport expects about 140 flights to be canceled on Friday, October 9, 2026, because part of the workforce at ground handler Alyzia is set to join a national union demonstration in the Belgian capital. The airport operator gave the figure on October 6, VRT reported.

In its passenger notice, the airport said only about half of the flights Alyzia handles are expected to operate as planned. Flights handled by Aviapartner, the airport’s other passenger ground handler, are not currently expected to be affected.

Which airlines are affected

Whether a flight is at risk depends on which handler the airline uses, not on where it is going. Alyzia works for about 20 airlines at Brussels, including Brussels Airlines, the largest carrier at the airport, according to VRT.

The airport’s own handler directory lists Alyzia for Air China, Air Senegal, Air Arabia Maroc and AJet, among others. It lists Aviapartner for British Airways, Aer Lingus, Air Canada and Air Transat, and VRT reported that Ryanair and TUI fly also sit on the Aviapartner side.

Brussels Airlines is cutting around 40% of its Friday flights, Aviation24 reported. The airline expects to carry around 30,000 passengers on Friday, and said it would contact passengers on canceled flights and offer either an alternative routing or a refund, with flight status available under “My Booking” on its website.

Its parent, Lufthansa Group, told travel agents on October 6 that its airlines had already canceled certain Brussels flights in advance. Customers on a canceled flight can rebook once free of charge or take a refund, the group said.

Brussels Airlines stressed that it is not involved in the dispute. “We regret that this is the third time this year that our flight schedule has been seriously disrupted by union action involving external parties,” spokesperson Nico Cardone said.

Why a protest in the city grounds flights

Friday’s action is aimed at the federal government’s policies. The socialist union ABVV-FGTB is holding a national demonstration in Brussels, while the Christian union ACV-CSC will go to the headquarters of the governing parties to protest, VRT reported.

The two unions framed the day as a first warning to the government ahead of the Prime Minister’s general policy statement, The Brussels Times reported when the date was announced. The FGTB has set three red lines: a unilateral attack on wage indexation, a VAT increase and the annualization of working time.

If the government crosses any of them during its October budget talks, the FGTB says it has a mandate to call a general strike during the week of November 23. Travelers with late-November trips through Belgium should keep that date in mind.

An airport can keep its terminal open and still lose flights when the ramp is short of people. Alyzia provides baggage and ramp handling, which covers handling the aircraft on the stand, loading and unloading it, and moving bags between the aircraft and the terminal.

Without those crews, a jet cannot be turned around, however ready its pilots and cabin crew are. Because the airport’s directory assigns each airline to one of the two handlers, a walkout at Alyzia lands on its customer airlines, while Aviapartner’s are not expected to be affected.

Belgium has been here before this year. Lufthansa Group notices show its airlines canceled all their passenger departures from Brussels around a national action day on March 12, then cut flights again for a national demonstration on May 12.

It is also a separate dispute from the Charleroi air traffic controller strikes in September, which grounded Ryanair flights there.

Your rights if your flight is canceled

EU Regulation 261/2004 applies to passengers departing from an airport in the EU, so it covers Friday departures from Brussels whatever the airline. It also covers flights into the EU when the operating airline is an EU carrier, such as Brussels Airlines.

On a canceled flight, the airline must offer a choice: a full refund within seven days, re-routing to the final destination at the earliest opportunity, or re-routing at a later date of the passenger’s choosing, subject to seat availability.

The airline also owes care while you wait: meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait. If the new flight leaves the next day or later, that extends to a hotel where an overnight stay becomes necessary, plus transport between the airport and the hotel.

Cash compensation is the harder question. Notice came only days before the flights, too late for the regulation’s two-week warning exemption. Article 5(3), however, frees an airline from paying if it can prove the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances it could not have avoided.

The regulation’s preamble names strikes that affect an airline’s operation as one example of such circumstances. Brussels Airlines has already described the disruption as union action involving external parties, but the burden of proving the exemption sits with the airline, so a passenger can still file a claim.

Getting to the airport may be its own problem on Friday. Brussels transit operator STIB expects major disruption to buses, trams and the metro from the strike and the march route, according to Aviation24.

A second union action across public services follows on Monday, October 12. Brussels Airport said that one is not expected to affect flights, but it advised travelers to check train, bus and metro services before setting out.