Ryanair pilots in Belgium have gone on a new strike today, which will also take place tomorrow due to complaints related to pay and working conditions.
In response to the impending pilot strike, Ryanair has issued a travel advisory for passengers who are scheduled to fly to Charleroi today and tomorrow, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Although the airline revealed that 75 per cent of its flight schedule would proceed without disruptions, it is preparing for the possibility of having to cancel 40 out of the 170 flights that were initially planned.
In this regard, the budget airline has stated that it extended an offer to the Belgian pilots that mirror the agreement recently reached with most other Ryanair pilots’ unions across the European Union. The same also mentioned that it sent these proposals on July 25.
During the strikes on July 15-16, over 80 per cent of Ryanair’s pilots participated, resulting in the cancellation of 120 flights at Charleroi Airport. At the same time, the next round of strikes on July 29-30 led to the cancellation of nearly 100 flights.
These strikes notably impacted flights to several countries, including Bosnia, Croatia, France, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden.
According to the Brussels Charleroi Airport, the full list of affected flights for August 14 is as follows:
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
Whereas the following flights scheduled for August 15 will also be cancelled:
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
To address the potential disruptions caused by the strikes, Brussels Charleroi Airport has advised passengers who are scheduled to travel on strike dates to verify their flight status before embarking on their journey. The airport has implemented a system where passengers will receive notifications through text or email within 48 hours of their departure if their flight ends up being cancelled.
In June 2023, Ryanair presented a petition to the EU Commission signed by 1.1 million travellers calling for the protection of flights from disruptions caused by air traffic control (ATC) strikes, with a particular focus on cases occurring in France.
According to Ryanair, ATC strikes within EU countries this year have forced airlines to suspend numerous flights from Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
During the same month, Ryanair’s Group CEO, Michael O’Leary, revealed that the airline had been forced to cancel a combined total of 400 flights as a direct consequence of strikes carried out by French air traffic control. As the airline explains, up until now, Ryanair had to cancel over 4,000 flights due to French ATC strikes. These cancellations primarily affected flights that pass through French airspace.