Brussels Airlines announced on Monday that it would cancel even more flights in order to satisfy, in the short term, the demand of the trade unions to lighten the workload. The number of cancelled flights in July and August corresponds to approximately 6% of Brussels Airlines’ flight schedule.
Brussels Airlines announced on Monday that it would cancel 675 flights during the two months of school holidays, 527 more than the 148 flights that were initially to be cancelled in July, as we reported earlier. “We are really on the limit of what is possible,” says CEO Peter Gerber in an interview with television channel VRT NWS. “Money has to be earned during the summer because without money there is no future.”
The cabin crew and the pilots denounce an excessive workload and expressed dissatisfaction with their wages and thus carried out a three-day strike on 23, 24 and 25 June, threatening further action if management didn’t reply to their grievances. Therefore, the staff representatives met on Monday with CEO Peter Gerber to discuss the possibilities for this summer.
“Today, we clearly meet the demand of the unions. We hope to definitively rule out any further action and give a real guarantee to our passengers“, comments the management on Monday.
The number of cancelled flights in July corresponds to approximately 6% of Brussels Airlines’ flight schedule, and for August it is 5% fewer flights. The measures represent a shortfall of 10 million euros, an amount similar to the loss caused by the three-day strike.
Normally everyone who had booked a ticket for one of the cancelled flights has already been informed by Brussels Airlines. Those affected were rebooked to other flights or could request a refund.
For the long term, management and trade unions must meet again on 23 August. Working groups will be set up to constructively develop a balanced flight plan. Possible long-term changes require cooperation where everyone takes their share of responsibility, management insists.
