Strike at Ryanair: 44 Flights Canceled at Charleroi Airport in Brussels on Saturday
Nearly 40% of Ryanair flights at Charleroi Airport will be canceled on the weekend of July 15 and 16 due to a strike by Belgian pilots, according to the airport's CEO, Philippe Verdonck, as reported by BrusselsTimes.
The strike primarily concerns salary, which was reduced by 20% at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic to help the company overcome the crisis and has not been restored to its previous level. The pilots are also concerned about the observance of pilots' necessary rest time.
On Wednesday, CNE Permanent Secretary Didier Lebbe confirmed the Ryanair pilots' strike based in Belgium for this weekend.
"A significant disruption is expected," noted a union official.
In a statement on their website, Ryanair confirmed these remarks. "While over 60% of Ryanair flights to/from Belgium will operate as scheduled on Saturday, July 15/16, we regret that some flights to/from Charleroi have been canceled due to a strike by a few of our Belgian-based pilot-founded unions. All affected customers have been contacted and informed of their options to transfer their flights to Thu/Fri or Mon/Tue or to receive a full refund if they wish to cancel their travel plans. Ryanair apologizes for any inconvenience caused to some of our Belgian passengers on Saturday and Sunday due to this unnecessary strike by some pilots. Belgian Ryanair pilots and their unions have been offered a pay increase similar to that recently agreed with pilot unions in other European countries. These unnecessary strikes will only cost our Belgian pilots loss of earnings when they and their union have already been offered a generous pay increase," the statement read.
Ryanair expects that over 60% of its Belgian flights on Saturday and Sunday will operate as scheduled, and over 98% of Ryanair's overall European schedules will not be affected by this strike by a few of its pilots based in Belgium.
The gathering of striking employees and unions will take place on Saturday morning in the departure hall of BSCA, according to Didier Lebbe. If the pilots' grievances are not addressed, they reserve the right to continue their actions until the end of the CCT Covid period, which is until October 2024, warned BeCA, CNE, and their Flemish counterpart ACV Puls.