(I drafted this Friday, June 17 while in the Brussels Airport and didn't want to post it until I had left out of an abundance of caution. Totally fine now. Showers are a damn good thing)
For context, I have been stuck in Brussels Airport for the last 8 hours or so after a three-hour delay on my departure end (allegedly unrelated to striking, they needed to fill out some vital paperwork and couldn't find a printer in the entire airport…?) made me miss my connection from Brussels to my destination. The next scheduled flight was cancelled, and the next one will be in 4-6 hours (yay! /s). I am tired, dirty, and miss my cat. Let me be clear, this situation is shitty and my family is at their wit's end even more than I am.
The reason the first scheduled make-up flight was cancelled was not at all transparent, and when asked about it, they vaguely said that it was “mechanical issues”. One of my family members mentioned that they had heard that there were some pilot strikes happening this week or next week, so I looked it up, and lo and behold, the unions representing the pilots and cabin crew of Brussels Airlines had issued a strike notice. While there isn't an official strike occurring today, I wouldn't be surprised if they were short-handed and scrambling because of the upcoming one. They are likely slowing down operations intentionally prior to the strike (fair enough).
Unions don't just strike for no reason. There is always negotiations and careful processes of escalation before it gets to the point of striking. Brussels Airlines sat down with these unions and refused to make any meaningful concessions to improve working conditions. Pilots and cabin crew have complained of poor, bureaucratic management, inadequate rest time and shift breaks, high levels of stress and pressure, and the lack of a “cafeteria plan” that tends to be preferred and is common in Belgium (there is a ridiculous reason for calling it that involving “menus” of work benefits or smth lol, the term originates from English afaik so it isn't a mistranslation).
The company refused, citing the need to increase profits over the summer post-covid, following through with prior investments, and complications involving a cafeteria plan and the Belgian government. However, union workers allege that the whole situation could have been better dealt with, and implied that there could have been improved outcomes for themselves and the airline if the airline had actually listened to what the workers needed and better structured its management. (One of their primary reasons for striking is poor, inefficient management.)
A reported 90% of union pilots and 85% of cabin crew members were in favor of striking.
These workers are not being petty or unreasonable. They have a spine. They deserve to work in safe conditions with adequate breaks, rest time, and accommodations, and be compensated in a fair and timely manner. The shittiness I've dealt with over the last day or so is not the fault of irritable flight attendants pushed to their limits because of sleep deprivation and lack of rest/personal reprieve, or customer service workers who have to stick to the company lines and are dealing with 57 other people in the same boat as me. I know that I sure as hell would break down and have a panic attack if I had either of those jobs, and I commend them for staying strong despite the conditions they are working in.
When we blame the workers for inconveniences and/or shitty airport experiences like this, we let the company off. Nobody should have to endure poor working conditions. It's unsustainable and cruel. Strikes are the cause of provocation by the company, not the workers. I shall do a whole lot of complaining to Brussels Airlines, and make it clear to them that their workers are not the problem: they are. This was a really unpleasant, and I will hopefully never have to travel with them again (at least, not until they get these issues truly sorted out). I could have been out of here if there wasn't a problem with their stupid printer and poor management and hands-tying of customer service workers.
Also, can I just say? The Brussels Airlines logo is the ugliest thing ever. It looks like a set of distorted, stylized pimples. I would not hesitate to say that to anyone in real life, because it's true