Strikes affecting Belgian airports in 2014-2015

[Boeing767copilot]

Le Syndicat National des Contrôleurs du Trafic Aérien (SNCTA) vient d'annoncer la levée du préavis de grève déposé pour la période du jeudi 16 avril au samedi 18 avril 2015. Et ce, "au vu des engagements pris par la direction et les pouvoirs publics", précise le syndicat sur sa page Facebook. En revanche, le préavis du 29 avril au 2 mai est maintenu.

The National Union of Air Traffic Controllers (SNCTA) has announced the lifting of the strike notice filed for the period from Thursday 16 April to Saturday, April 18, 2015.

[airazurxtror]

The pilots of TAP have announced a strike beginning on 1st May, for up to ten days.

http://www.air-journal.fr/2015-04-16-ta ... 42801.html

[sn26567]

The pilots of TAP have announced a strike beginning on 1st May, for up to ten days.

TAP hasn't received the official notice of SPAC's strike between 1/05 and 10/05 yet, but all efforts will be made to prevent it, says the airline...

[Passenger]

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Binnenland ... port.dhtml

Next week (as from Monday 21th) police unions at BRU will harrass passengers during a slow-down action.

Only non-Schengen flights will be affected.

[airazurxtror]

One day strike in the administrations, railways, schools, firemen, army, police on monday 22 April.
Thus, probably no train to the Brussels airport.

http://www.lesoir.be/853023/article/act ... e-22-avril

[sn26567]

An ATC national strike is called in Italy from 1100 until 1500 UTC on 21st April 2015.

On the other hand, the French ATC strike called for 29/4 to 2/5 has been cancelled.

(source: Eurocontrol)

[sn26567]

Strikes 20-24 April: impact on Brussels Airport

21-22 April: Transport to and from the airport

We expect all train and bus services to be seriously disrupted in Belgium from Tuesday night 21 April 10pm. onwards to Wednesday night 22 April 10pm. because of nationwide strikes. All train and bus services to and from Brussels Airport and the international train services will also be affected.

20-24 April: Strikes by the Federal Police force

Industrial action by the federal police force can also cause disruption between 20 and 24 April at the non-Schengen travellers’ border control. Be aware of possible long queues.

Advice to our travellers

• Check your flight information online and contact your airline or travel agency for more information about your flight

• Leave especially early for the airport

• Look for alternative transport: take the car to the airport, use family or friends or even car-pooling. It will also come in handy to book your parking place at the airport beforehand online.

Source: Brussels Airport

[airazurxtror]

Is Belgocontrol on strike wednesday ?

[Atco EBBR]

Not to my knowledge...

[Conti764]

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Binnenland ... port.dhtml

Next week (as from Monday 21th) police unions at BRU will harrass passengers during a slow-down action.

Only non-Schengen flights will be affected.

Makes you think how many people they are short when doing their job as it should be results in so many delays...

[Passenger]

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Binnenland ... port.dhtml
Next week (as from Monday 21th) police unions at BRU will harrass passengers during a slow-down action. Only non-Schengen flights will be affected.

Makes you think how many people they are short when doing their job as it should be results in so many delays...

The strike is n o t about the lack of manpower at Brussels Airport: that's just the excuse of the day. The main reason for the strike is because the police unions don't get the pension settlement they've hoped for, after the Constitutional Court cancelled the previous plan.

[Conti764]

Bullshit. I know what this particular action is about, and it has nothing to do with the pension issues... The federal police is highly budget stricken and the airport is not the only unit where there are issues with manpower. However, the airport unit is one of the most visual units where ordinary people indeed feel the fallout of it. However, when the government is doing nothing about it and tBAC keeps timing the time it takes to check a passenger, this sort of action is the last thing to point out that when police does their job as they should do, big delays are unevitable due to lack of personnel.

[Passenger]

I know what this particular action is about, and it has nothing to do with the pension issues... The federal police is highly budget stricken and the airport is not the only unit where there are issues with manpower. However, the airport unit is one of the most visual units where ordinary people indeed feel the fallout of it.

About every service, public or private, nowadays wants more staff then they have, and dealing with manpower happens all over. If you can't handle that stress, quit the job and become a parking ticket controller. Fact is that border control is an unevitable public service, and as such the public servants should at least pay a bit of respect to the taxpayers = the airport, the airlines, the passengers. What they will do, is the opposite: "f.ck the passengers, f.uck the airlines, f.ck the airport: our demands are more important".

However, when the government is doing nothing about it and tBAC keeps timing the time it takes to check a passenger, this sort of action is the last thing to point out that when police does their job as they should do, big delays are unevitable due to lack of personnel.

A policeman is not "doing his job" when he harrasses passengers and forces them to queue stand up for one or two hours, because that's supposed to be a signal to the government. It's a shame that this is called "doing your job". Such behaviour is called bullying. I really really feel very sorry for those passengers arriving on a transcontinental flight, hours of bad compressed air, almost no night rest, jet lag, ...

Fact is that a strike - or a bullying action like on Monday - is not the last thing to point out whatever you want. It's the easiest thing. They could all dress in black, or wear a uniform of the fifties, or wear a red clowns nose, or ask every passenger if he/she is a member of the Belgian government "because then we would check you thoroughly": the press will also report such actions, and the Union delegate will also be able to tell what/why.

[Conti764]

Well, Passenger, you don't have a clue what you are talking about. Everything you propose as an 'action' is unlawful, goes against police deontology and makes everyone who participates vulnerable for internal sanctions. The uncaring passenger will smile and forget, since he doesn't care...

Now, the only thing you as a passenger care about, is getting on a plane as soon as possible. But for someone who has just become a victem of a crime it is a good thing that the suspect is stopped wherever possible or at least taken up for interrogation (you have that petty crime thug that managed to escape Belgian police but got apprehended at EIN airport as an example) and we all want to make sure that people with bad intentions do not enter our country, nor do we want them wandering around (possibly with false passports) and stay away from the authorities, do we?

We all want our police officers to do a proper job, do we? You may consider this as harrassing the passengers, however, they do nothing else but their job in a way they should. The average passenger doesn't care as long as he gets as quickly as possible through passportcontrol, but the border control at any international airport is one of those few places where people who did something wrong or who have bad intentions are being stopped. And due to the lack of personnel, the officer you pass when having your id checked, is being forced to not do his job as he or she should do it, because you don't want to have hundreds of people qeueing up your desk, nor do you want some paper pusher standing behind you monitoring the time you need to clear a passenger.

[Passenger]

Slow down action has been postponed, the press reports.

...the only thing you as a passenger care about, is getting on a plane as soon as possible...
...The average passenger doesn't care as long as he gets as quickly as possible through passportcontrol, but the border control at any international airport is one of those few places where people who did something wrong or who have bad intentions are being stopped...

Oh boy. Airline and airport staff are clever people, all the others are stupid.

Contrary to you (I guess), I don't have a crew and/or airport ID card that allows me to go through a quick staff control (I have an IATA ID Card, but that's useless there). I've passed through zillions of passport controls and visa checks, and I allways have accepted that there is a queue. Just like almost all passengers accept that there is a queue. Actually, I hate it when the policeman (m/f) doesn't check my passport name in the computer, because if someone stole my passport, it would show up.

You are completely totally wrong with your statement about "the average passenger". Contrary to what you say, almost all passengers do know that those controls are there to make the world safe/safer. But what we don't like, is that union members abuse their power as a border officer to harrass passengers for union purposes. And that is exactly what happened here.

[sn26567]

It seems that the first half day of the police "work-to-rule" action didn't go well among the passengers: the queues were huge (up to 2.5 hours), children were crying, some aggressive adults were fighting to pass other ones in the queues, planes were delayed, and some passengers even started to revolt against the police, which was compelled to accept a compromise and let passengers go through with less controls than initially intended. One of the unions stopped the strike, another union vowed to continue until 17:00.

A mess!

[convair]

We all want our police officers to do a proper job, do we?

Yes, we do, but keeping 2.5 h queues is NOT doing a proper job. It's an abuse of power, pure and simple.

It's about time these highly privileged people be taught some lessons of public spirit!

[b720]

making people wait 2.5 hrs in line, after a long trip and for no real reason is nothing else but abuse. People will "revolt" cut the line etc.. it is also a very very negative image for the country, many would even vow never to come here again.. I do not see who actually benefits from such abusive and retarded practices. They can distribute leaflets, with a smile, explaining their grievances..people will be much more understanding. They might even throw in a praline!! I am sure they will find chocolate company that is willing to donate a few thousand pralines for a good cause!!

[Conti764]

The vouchers will find their way to the bins and the pralines will be gladly eaten, and not a living soul will care, because they quickly passed the control...

Apparently the government got the message, tomorrow they'll have a meeting with the police. And again, this has nothing to do with the pension issues.

[Conti764]

We all want our police officers to do a proper job, do we?

Yes, we do, but keeping 2.5 h queues is NOT doing a proper job. It's an abuse of power, pure and simple.

It's about time these highly privileged people be taught some lessons of public spirit!

I, for one, regret that it had come to this... When I talk about doing a proper job, I'm talking about officers doing their job thoroughly, with enough people and enough and proper infrastructure. Compare the amateuristic scenes at both police and customs and compare it to f.e. Australia...

Off course, all you people wouldn't have cared a tiny bit about illegal aliens passing our border, or even worse, criminals if it wasn't for passengers having to wait 2 hours and more for passing the border. It"s a shame people only start to care and the other party only cares about their grievances after such an action as today...