Ryanair pilots in Belgium are conducting another strike on August 14th and 15th, the 3rd one in less than a month, as announced by the CNE and ACV Puls unions. The pilots conducted a strike on the weekends of July 15-16 and July 29-30. This is their first weekday action, although it is the end of the extended Assumption weekend. The strike will only affect Charleroi airport, as no Ryanair aircraft are based at Brussels airport and flights are operated from other bases.
The pilots are still demanding restoration of their wages after the cuts made during pandemic; in 2020 Ryanair pilots took a 20% pay cut to help the company through the crisis. Pilots are also pointing to problems concerning the down-time they are granted between flights.
The Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA) released the list of cancelled flights to and from the BSCA tarmac. Flights to/from Brussels Airport will operate normally as they are flown by foreign crew.
1. Cancellations for Monday 14 August
Outbound
- 06:20 Valence Castellon FR4797
- 06:35 Perpignan FR1384
- 06:35 Thessaloniki FR4997
- 06:40 Alghero FR6732
- 06:55 Béziers FR4822
- 07:10 Lisbon FR1300
- 07:15 Pescara FR5016
- 07:35 Venice Treviso FR1522
- 08:20 Barcelona El Prat FR2835
- 08:30 Palma de Mallorca FR7831
- 11:05 Bologna FR3939
- 12:10 Verona FR9101
- 14:50 Bologna FR4862
- 16:05 Warsaw FR5748
- 16:20 Tetouan FR5948
- 16:30 Oujda FR8774
- 16:55 Helsinki FR9328
- 17:00 Cluj-Napoca FR9547
- 18:20 Santander FR6057
- 18:25 Rome Campinio FR9720
- 18:30 Barcelona Girona FR6902
- 19:10 Marseille FR6316
Inbound
- 10:35 Perpignan FR1385
- 10:40 Beziers FR4823
- 11:05 Valence Castellon FR4796
- 11:10 Venice Treviso FR1521
- 11:15 Alghero FR6733
- 11:45 Pescara FR5015
- 12:45 Thessaloniki FR4998
- 13:05 Lisbon FR1301
- 13:10 Barcelona El Prat FR2834
- 14:00 Palma de Mallorca FR7830
- 15:00 Bologna FR3938
- 15:45 Verona FR9102
- 18:45 Bologna FR4863
- 20:30 Warsaw FR5749
- 22:30 Cluj-Napoca FR9546
- 22:40 Santander FR6058
- 22:40 Tetouan FR5949
- 22:50 Oujda FR8775
- 22:50 Helsinki FR9327
- 22:55 Rome Campinio FR9719
- 22:55 Marseille FR6315
- 22:55 Barcelona Girona FR6901
2. Cancellations for Tuesday 15 August
Outbound
- 06:20 Banja Luka FR5168
- 06:30 Alicante FR3534
- 06:35 Palma de Mallorca FR7831
- 06:35 Girona FR6902
- 06:35 Pula FR2042
- 06:50 Figari FR4566
- 07:05 Pescara FR5016
- 07:15 Prague FR2121
- 07:20 Cagliari FR4417
- 07:25 Tangier FR8073
- 10:55 Lódz FR9884
- 11:05 Milan-Bergamo FR3660
- 11:25 Billund FR3762
- 12:35 Rabat FR6932
- 16:00 Málaga FR1916
- 16:45 Faro FR6312
- 16:55 Lisbon FR3610
- 17:20 Brindisi FR7737
- 17:25 Barcelona FR2835
- 17:25 Asturias FR4882
- 18:35 Perpignan FR1384
- 18:50 Poznan FR4999
Inbound
- 10:30 Prague FR2122
- 10:35 Pula FR2043
- 10:40 Banja Luka FR5169
- 11:00 Girona FR6901
- 11:20 Figari FR4567
- 11:35 Pescara FR5015
- 11:40 Palma de Mallorca FR7830
- 12:00 Alicante FR3533
- 12:20 Cagliari FR4416
- 13:55 Tangier FR8074
- 14:35 Milan-Bergamo FR3659
- 14:50 Billund FR3761
- 15:10 Lódz FR9885
- 19:20 Rabat FR6933
- 21:50 Asturias FR4883
- 22:05 Málaga FR1915
- 22:30 Barcelona FR2834
- 22:35 Perpignan FR1385
- 22:40 Brindisi FR7738
- 22:40 Poznan FR5000
- 22:50 Lisbon FR3609
- 22:55 Faro FR6313
Veerle Verleyen of the Christian trade union ACV told Belgian news outlet VRT that “Ryanair must respect Belgian labour laws, they can’t unilaterally make changes to a collective labour agreement. These are illegal practices”. Despite several meetings, no way out of the impasse between has yet been found. “We haven’t received a single valid proposal from them,” said Didier Lebbe, permanent secretary of the CNE union. “All we’ve received are threats and illegal proposals.”
The Christian unions CNE and ACV Puls and the Belgian Cockpit Association (Beca) wrote a letter to Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair to try to escalate the urgency of their request. The reply they received was however not what they had wished for. “His reply is a copy-paste of what the Human Resources Director has sent us so far,” Lebbe said to Belgian media. According to him, the low-cost carrier continues to demand that certain pilots withdraw the criminal complaint they have lodged against it, “which is impossible since the investigations have already been launched,” he said.
According to the unions, Ryanair has continued to modify pilots’ schedules and rest periods, going against a collective labor agreement expiring in October 2024, which is why the Belgian pilots’ strike notice runs until then. “And they’re even calling into question Belgium’s wage indexation system,” said Lebbe. The unions and BeCA are appealing to political authorities to put a stop to what they see as the company’s illegal actions.
