Departures from Brussels Airport on 12 May 2026 will be severely disrupted by strike action, officials at the hub have warned. To manage staff absences, airlines have been asked to reduce schedules, which will mean significant flight cancellations, according to a post on the airport website.
“Unfortunately, a large number of departing flights will have to be cancelled,” the statement read, adding: “This can also impact certain arriving flights.” The airport apologised for the inconvenience.
Passengers will be contacted directly by their carrier if their flight is among those affected. Anyone travelling to or from the airport on the day of the walkout should be aware that public transit, including trains and buses that serve the hub, could also be disrupted.
#UnionAction 12 May ⚠️ Part of the departing flights will unfortunately be cancelled due to expected limited staffing. This may also impact some arriving flights. Public transport to/from #BrusselsAirport will be affected as well. We apologise for the inconvenience. ➡️ More info:… pic.twitter.com/o5Da6UqjTm
— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) April 28, 2026
Impact assessments show a high proportion of security and ground-handling staff are likely to join the strike, as members of three major unions (ABVV/FGTB, ACV/CSC and ACLVB/CGSLB) withdraw their labour. The action forms part of an ongoing mobilisation against the Bart de Wever government’s social and economic policies.
Organised to coincide with the strike on 12 May, a national demonstration will take place in the Belgian capital, “bringing together concerns shared by many employees today,” the unions said in a joint statement.” Those concerns include pensions, salaries and purchasing power, labour force protections, and working conditions.
The airport has suffered repeated disruption, directly and indirectly, as a result of a year-plus-long campaign of industrial action directed against de Wever’s reforms. If the walkout on 12 May goes ahead, it will be the ninth time since the start of 2025 that operations have been interrupted by strike action that has not always been aimed at the airport.
After six months of monthly strike action in June 2025, the airport, alongside Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines and Tui fly, issued a strongly worded appeal to unions to highlight the reputational and economic damage being caused by the campaign. It urged them to consider the “disproportionate impact on tens of thousands of passengers, airline staff and the aviation sector as a whole, and choose different ways to pressure the government.”
The last 24-hour strike on 12 March 2026 resulted in “the cancellation of 359 departing and arriving flights,” the airport has reported, noting: “In total, 30,000 passengers were affected.” The airport handled a total of 1,767,797 passengers over the month of March 2026, an increase of 1.9% compared to the same period in 2025.
