In 2025, 2,395 flights were canceled due to strikes at Brussels Airport. The seven-day national union action affected more than 330,000 travelers. According to the airport, these actions cost the Belgian economy approximately 175 million euros.
Brussels Airlines says that these seven days of national union action “should not be repeated” in 2026. “We call on the unions and the government to sit down together to find solutions or alternative ways to protest without bringing the airport to a standstill every time. Given the economic importance of the airport, guaranteed service should not be unthinkable.”
To be clear: the misery and chaos at Brussels Airport in 2025 were not only due to the strikes. In September, dozens of flights were canceled due to a cyberattack on the boarding system. Several drone reports have also led to at least 54 flights being canceled.
“In the long term, this is simply disastrous for the reliability and perception of our airport,” says MP Kjell Vander Elst (Open VLD), who requested the figures on the number of flights canceled because of strike days.
“Whoever plays with our airport plays with our prosperity. And while the Flemish government is putting itself into debt to the tune of 3 billion euros to be able to place a Flemish lion on the roof of the departure terminal, the federal government is doubling the flight tax. That is completely incomprehensible.”
Threats from Ryanair
At the end of November, the federal government decided to double the flight tax for flights longer than 500 km, which had already been increased in the summer, to €10 from 2027 onwards.
Ryanair has already announced it will significantly reduce its services in Belgium for the winter 2026-2027 due to the increase in the federal flight tax. At Charleroi Airport, the low-cost airline would remove 5 of its 18 aircraft and cancel 20 routes.
Add the local airport tax of €3 per passenger, and Ryanair will have to cut back further on its operations. The airline will reduce its flights, routes, and stationed aircraft at Brussels South Charleroi starting in April 2026.
Brussels South Charleroi Airport would also face a €3 tax per passenger levied by the city of Charleroi, effective January 1. The tax, which has not yet been voted on, would generate 15 million euros annually, an essential source of revenue for Charleroi’s ailing city coffers.
