This weekend, a strike will affect this Belgian airport

Ryanair pilots based at Charleroi Airport to walk out of their jobs, in a second episode of ongoing labour despite

Ryanair flights departing and arriving at Charleroi Airport on 29-30 July will be affected due to an announced strike by Belgium-based pilots working for the company. The reason behind the ongoing labour disputes stems from what the pilots’ trade union Beca described as a “total lack of respect” on the part of the employer.

More specifically, the thorny issues have to do with Ryanair wishing to cancel an agreement on working hours and rest. And there are payment issues, as well. There was an agreement on a 20 per cent pay cut at the start of the COVID pandemic, which is still in force, but now with the return of regular flight schedules and inflation, seems out of place.

There can be more strikes at Charleroi Airport until October 2024

The upcoming strike is a continuation of one that took place on 15-16 July and reportedly led to the cancellation of 120 flights, which disrupted the travel plans for some 38% of the airport’s passengers. Charleroi is a major hub for Ryanair flights in Western Europe.

What’s more, there might not be an end in sight to this labour saga – at least not anytime soon.

We apologise in advance to passengers planning to travel with Ryanair between now and October 2024 who may be affected by these strikes," the unions said in a press release prior to the initial strike, as quoted by Euronews.

This means that next year’s summer travel plans for passengers using the airport and Ryanair could be affected at any given time as well.

As for the upcoming strike, according to Simple Flying, Ryanair will not give more than 48 hours’ notice about which flights will be pulled down.