Alyzia’s Strike Grounded 140 Flights at Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport cancelled about 140 flights on Friday, 9 October, after ground handler Alyzia joined a national strike. The cuts did not fall evenly. Airlines that hire Aviapartner, including Ryanair, British Airways and easyJet, were expected to operate as planned. Brussels Airlines, Emirates and United sit on Alyzia’s customer list, so they took the cancelled turns.

The airport still expected about 400 flights to run. Passengers found their day decided by the company that loads the bags.

#unionaction 9 October ⚠️ Due to limited staffing at ground handler Alyzia, approximately half of the flights handled by them are expected to operate as planned. Passengers whose flight is cancelled will be contacted by their airline with more information. We apologise for the… pic.twitter.com/BXudGIOQGw

— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) October 6, 2026

Brussels Airlines Cut 40% of Its Friday Schedule

Brussels Airlines, the largest carrier at the airport, uses Alyzia for ramp and baggage work. It expected to carry about 30,000 passengers on Friday and said it had to cancel around 40% of that day’s flights. Cancelled services included routes to London Heathrow, Manchester, Paris, Budapest, Madrid and Chicago. British Airways flights and Edinburgh services were listed as still scheduled.

Spokesperson Nico Cardone said the airline’s own staff were not on strike. The holes in the timetable came from Alyzia working with fewer people. Affected customers were to be contacted with another routing, or they could take a refund and check status under My Booking.

We regret that this is the third time this year that our flight schedule has been seriously disrupted by union action involving external parties

Nico Cardone, spokesperson, Brussels Airlines

The carrier said the action was disrupting thousands of trips and hitting its finances. It asked unions to press their case without grounding travellers and firms that are not in the fight. Emirates and United, which also use Alyzia, were among the long-haul names exposed. The airport told passengers their airline would call them, and that the public flight board would show a cancellation only after the carrier logged it.

Alyzia’s 21 Airlines Took the Cancellations

Brussels Airport publishes which handler each airline uses. Count the passenger names on Alyzia and you get 21 carriers, matching the “about 20” figure used in the airport’s own briefing. Aviapartner takes the rest, including most of the big UK leisure brands.

That split is why a national walkout looked like an airport crisis on one pier and a normal Friday on the other. About half of the flights Alyzia handles were still expected to operate. Aviapartner flights were not expected to be hit.

WHO FLEW, AND WHO SAT ON THE RAMP

Lufthansa Group is split across the two ramps. Brussels Airlines is on Alyzia. Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines are listed with Aviapartner, as are KLM, ITA Airways, SAS and Finnair. A passenger on a Lufthansa metal through Brussels had a different Friday from a passenger on the group’s Belgian sister. Air Arabia Maroc, Air China, Royal Air Maroc, LOT, Rwandair and SunExpress also sit with Alyzia. Etihad is listed with Aviapartner.

Why the Airport Cannot Run on One Handler

Bags, pushback, de-icing and the walk between hold and carousel are not done by the airline at Brussels. Two licensed firms do that work for passenger jets. When one of them thins out, its customer airlines cannot turn the aircraft, even if pilots and cabin crew are ready.

HOW ALYZIA GOT THE SECOND LICENCE

1. June 2020: Swissport Belgium files for bankruptcy, leaving the airport short of a second passenger handler just as flights are due to restart.
2. 1 July 2020: French firm Alyzia SAS takes a six-month licence for baggage and ramp work. The airport states a legal duty to keep two handlers in operation.
3. 20 January 2021: Brussels Airlines signs Alyzia for ramp handling, bags, de-icing and Lost and Found, from 1 April 2021, after years with Aviapartner.
4. 2025: Alyzia and Aviapartner Belgium receive new passenger baggage and ramp licences running to October 2032, a seven-year term.

Alyzia has been on the field since 2020. The dual-licence rule is what turned a general strike into a lottery. One handler’s absence does not close Zaventem. It closes a customer list.

Unions Aimed the Walkout at the Federal Budget

The airport was collateral. Socialist union ABVV-FGTB and Christian union ACV-CSC called a national day of action against the De Wever I government’s budget work. Unions say workers, pensioners and lower-income households would carry cuts meant to trim about €10 billion by 2029. They have tabled an alternative they say could raise up to €21 billion without that squeeze, and they want wage indexation, VAT and annualised hours left alone.

ABVV marched from Brussels Central Station toward Brussels-South (Midi) under the slogan “Hands off our pockets.” Spokesperson Daan Nelen said the aim was to warn the government off purchasing power, the cost-of-living index and VAT. ACV sent activists to the headquarters of the coalition parties: N-VA, CD&V, Vooruit, MR and Les Engagés. For the unions this was at least the 10th major protest against the federal programme. Earlier days of action included 12 March, when 80,000 to 100,000 people marched in Brussels, and 12 May, when about 40,000 turned out.

Police put Friday’s main march at about 30,000 people. ABVV chair Bert Engelaar put it at 50,000. The union column itself was largely peaceful. Separate groups, many young and masked, threw bottles, bricks, stones and fireworks near Central Station, set fires and damaged street furniture. Officers used water cannon and tear gas. Police said 21 people were detained or arrested, including 13 minors, and that those clashes were not the union demonstration.

The street fighting did not cancel the flights. Empty Alyzia crews did. Brussels Airport sits in Zaventem, not in the city centre, and security screening was not on strike. Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Thursday, 8 October, that hard budget steps were needed now to avoid a debt and interest spiral. Coalition talks on the cuts were aimed at 13 October.

Four in Ten De Lijn Buses Stayed in the Depot

Getting to a flight that still existed was a second problem. Flemish operator De Lijn said four in ten of its buses and trams would not run on Friday, leaving 60% of the network on an alternative roster. Brussels operator MIVB/STIB warned of heavy gaps and said it would not put on a minimum service. The STIB strike notice for metro services also flagged possible trouble on Monday, 12 October. NMBS/SNCB trains were not part of Friday’s action.

DE LIJN FRIDAY, SHARE OF BUSES AND TRAMS STILL RUNNING

• Antwerp province: 58% running, and 46% inside Antwerp city.
• Flemish Brabant: 54% running, the province that includes the airport.
• Limburg: 61% running.
• West Flanders: 65% running, with the Coastal tram at 62%.
• East Flanders: 71% running, the highest of the five provinces.

De Lijn posted a De Lijn alternative service plan and told riders that trips which are cancelled simply vanish from the planner. The UK Foreign Office warned that the strike would hit public transport and other public services in Brussels, and that a demonstration would take place in the centre on Friday. Charleroi Airport, south of the city, said all of its flights ran as normal on 9 October, though the road and bus trip there was slower.

Monday’s Rail Strike Leaves Flights Intact

A second, separate public-sector strike is set for Monday, 12 October, the day before the prime minister’s policy statement. Brussels Airport’s own banner says no impact is expected on flights. The hit is on the ground: socialist public-services union CGSP/ACOD has called out members across public work, and ACV is not calling a matching strike that day.

WHAT WE KNOW

• Airport: No flight impact is expected on Monday, 12 October.
• Trains: The SNCB/NMBS notice runs from 22:00 on Sunday, 11 October, until the last train on Monday, 12 October, with a thinner timetable in the planner about 24 hours ahead.
• City and regional buses: STIB says disruption is also possible on Monday. De Lijn said its Monday roster would appear from the evening of Saturday, 10 October.

WHAT IS UNCONFIRMED

• How many trains: NMBS had not locked a final Monday count when Friday’s airport cuts were already done.
• Eurostar and other internationals: Operators were still adjusting individual Brussels-Paris and Brussels-London paths; check the ticket, not a blanket claim.

FGTB has a mandate to call a general strike in the week of 23 November if the government crosses its red lines in the budget talks. CSC has said it prefers to wait for those talks first. Anyone flying on Monday still has to cross a city whose trains, metros and buses may not match the timetable saved on a phone.

What EU Rules Still Cover After a Strike

A strike at a contracted handler is the kind of event airlines treat as extraordinary circumstances. That argument is about cash compensation of €250, €400 or €600, not about whether you are left in the terminal. Under EU rules on cancelled flights, the operating carrier still owes care and a choice of reroute or refund, even when it did not call the strike.

WHAT A CANCELLED TICKET STILL BUYS

• Reroute or refund: A seat to the same destination at the earliest chance, or reimbursement of the ticket within seven days. That choice is the passenger’s.
• Care while you wait: Meals and drinks, two free calls or emails, and a hotel plus transfers if you are stuck overnight. Extraordinary circumstances do not cancel that duty.
• Cash compensation: €250 on flights of 1,500 km or less, €400 on longer intra-EU sectors and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and €600 beyond that, unless the airline proves the cancellation could not have been avoided.
• Vouchers: A voucher is not a refund unless you agree to take one.

Keep receipts if the airline fails to feed you or put you up. Brussels Airlines said it would rebook people free of charge or pay the ticket back. The airport’s line on Friday was an apology for the inconvenience. The next test for anyone still trying to leave Belgium is Monday’s thinner trains, not another hole in the Alyzia stand plan.