Between 70 and 80% of Brussels Airlines flights scheduled for Saturday will be canceled, announced a spokesperson for the Belgian company, due to a surprise strike by pilots in which the cabin crew is joining. “We deplore that the pilots’ unions are calling for a wildcat strike (…) We call on them to join us around the table to continue discussions and prevent avoidable damage to Brussels Airlines,” said the spokesperson.
“We apologize to all passengers” affected, she added, without wanting to comment on the employees’ demands. Three pilots’ unions have called a 24-hour strike starting Saturday morning, demanding the indexation to inflation of benefits not included in salaries.
Another union, for its part, called on cabin crew to join the pilots’ strike, to demand “a salary increase” and a better distribution of working time, according to a press release. Brussels Airlines, which belongs to the Lufthansa group, operates around forty planes serving some 85 destinations. The company had already been shaken in June 2022 by a major strike action by its pilots, hostesses and stewards.
