Belgian airspace shuts down as air traffic controllers strike over digital tower plan

The shutdown

Air traffic to and from Belgium came to a standstill at 14:00 local time on Tuesday after controllers at Skeyes, the state-owned air navigation service provider, launched an unannounced strike. The company confirmed that only minimal services would be maintained: state flights, medical flights, and search-and-rescue operations. Eurocontrol data indicated the closure would last until 21:00, though Skeyes spokesperson Audrey Dorigo cautioned that the situation could evolve.

Brussels Airport announced that airlines would have to cancel all scheduled flights during the seven-hour window, affecting roughly 200 departures and arrivals. The airport urged passengers with bookings in that period not to come to the terminal. Brussels Airlines said it expected a "considerable impact" and was working to rebook travellers, while expressing regret over the disruption caused without prior notice.

Overnight precursor

The afternoon walkout followed a spontaneous stoppage during the night of Monday into Tuesday. That earlier action led to the cancellation of 30 passenger flights at Charleroi Airport and disrupted around 40 cargo flights at Liège Airport. At Brussels Airport, approximately 25 overnight departures were delayed by one to two hours, and two flights bound for Zaventem were diverted to other airports. DHL Aviation spokesperson Lorenzo Van de Pol said at least twelve of the company's flights could not depart on time, causing a "significant impact" on delivery schedules.

The Namur digital tower

At the centre of the dispute is the planned digital control centre in Namur, which is set to centralise operations for the Liège and Charleroi airport towers starting in 2027. The project will eventually reduce the number of air traffic controllers required. Unions and management had negotiated transitional measures, working conditions, and support arrangements. A preliminary agreement was accepted by the largest union, representing a majority of controllers, and forwarded to the joint committee.

Skeyes removed the digital tower item from the agenda of the joint committee meeting scheduled for 12 June in an effort to de-escalate tensions and resume talks on accompanying measures. Despite this, controllers proceeded with the stoppage. The timing of renewed negotiations remains unclear.

Political reaction

Walloon airports minister Cécile Neven called the strike "simply unacceptable," noting that thousands of passengers were "taken hostage" at Charleroi and other Belgian airports without any prior notice. She warned that the economic consequences would need to be assessed and that the reliability of the country's airport infrastructure had again been damaged.

Without notice, thousands of passengers were taken hostage at Charleroi and other airports in the country. Companies that depend daily on our airports for their activities have also been penalised.

Neven added that the situation was especially serious given an international context already marked by strong geopolitical tensions complicating air and logistics operations. She is preparing a letter to federal mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke outlining the concrete consequences for Walloon airports and called for a rapid reflection on mechanisms to guarantee service continuity.

What passengers should know

Brussels Airport advised affected travellers to await contact from their airline and not to travel to the airport. Flights scheduled after 21:00 were expected to operate normally. The overnight action had already caused delays of one to two hours for around 25 flights at Brussels Airport, with two diversions to alternative airports. Operations at Charleroi, Liège, and Ostend resumed at 9:30 on Tuesday morning before the afternoon shutdown began.