Belgium Late November Strikes Now Come With Airline Waivers

Published on Nov 17, 2025, 8:31 am CST

9 min read

Key points

Belgium's unions will stage nationwide strikes from November 24 to 26 that disrupt airports, rail, and Brussels public transport
Brussels Airport, Brussels South Charleroi Airport, SNCB rail, and STIB metro and trams expect sharply reduced or suspended service
Air Canada has issued a goodwill policy letting eligible Brussels passengers on November 25 and 26 rebook once free into early December
United and Lufthansa Group are also warning of Brussels flight irregularities and listing Brussels industrial action travel waivers
Governments warn that temporary border checks and extra entry controls may add further time to airport and cross border journeys
Travelers who cannot move Belgian trips can reroute via Amsterdam, Paris Charles de Gaulle, or Frankfurt and avoid downtown Brussels

Impact

Holiday Week Flights: If you are ticketed to or through Brussels on November 25 or 26, contact your airline now to use any strike related waiver or move your dates.
Brussels Transfers: Plan for very slow transfers and limited rail and metro, stay near the airport if possible, and avoid routing airport runs through the city center.
Alternative Gateways: When you cannot shift Belgian plans, look at routings via Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle, or Frankfurt, then connect by rail or coach.
Security And Border Checks: Build in extra buffer for document checks on major roads, trains, and intra Schengen flights as Belgium and neighbors tighten controls.
Corporate And Group Travel: Companies should activate contingency plans, move meetings off strike days, and brief travelers on rerouting and remote participation options.

Belgium's late November strike threat has hardened into a confirmed three day disruption window, and the knock on effects are now big enough that airlines and governments are treating Brussels as a partial shutdown risk rather than a routine protest. From November 24 to 26, coordinated national strikes will hit airport security, rail operations, and Brussels' metro and tram network, while the first foreign carriers, led by Air Canada, have begun posting formal waivers that let some passengers rebook once free of charge into early December.

The practical takeaway is that travelers with Brussels in their plans for the week of November 24 should assume serious transport disruption, longer security lines, and tighter border checks, then either move their trips or reroute to neighboring hubs where possible.

Strike Window And Sectors Confirmed

Belgium's three main trade union confederations have now confirmed that they will stage a coordinated national strike from Monday, November 24, through Wednesday, November 26, targeting rail engineers, airport security staff, public sector workers, and Brussels' STIB MIVB urban transport system.

For rail, internal briefings and public posts indicate that the national operator SNCB expects a seventy two hour stoppage of most services, running from around 10 00 p.m. on Sunday, November 23, to 10 00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26, with only a legal minimum of trains operating on select core lines. That timing effectively wipes out normal intercity and regional rail for three full working days, including key links between Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Liège, and the broader cross border network.

At Brussels Airport (BRU), ground handling companies and security providers are already working to minimum staffing plans and have warned airlines to expect a repeat of the October 14 national protest that forced the cancellation of every departing flight and roughly half of all arrivals when staff walked out. Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is preparing for a more severe scenario, with management signaling that a full shutdown of departures on Tuesday, November 25, is likely if they cannot staff screening posts, and that the surrounding days could see heavily reduced operations.

In Brussels itself, urban operator STIB MIVB has posted a dedicated strike page that warns of "significantly reduced" metro, tram, and bus service levels across all three days, with only a fraction of vehicles running and final line by line timetables published on the morning of each strike day. That means travelers cannot rely on current journey planners or regular frequencies for any trips that fall between November 24 and 26.

How Airports, Rail, And Metro Are Likely To Behave

Although the exact hourly impact will depend on how many staff respect the strike call, the strike calendar and previous national actions give a fairly clear pattern of what travelers should expect.

At Brussels Airport, minimum service staffing usually keeps a subset of security lanes, check in counters, and baggage operations open, but capacity drops so sharply that airlines are forced into large blocks of pre emptive cancellations, especially for short haul departures at peak times. During the October stoppage, Lufthansa Group cancelled all departing flights and a large share of arrivals, and their irregular operations portal is already warning of further adjustments linked to a November 26 national manifestation.

Charleroi leans more heavily on low cost point to point carriers, which have less flexibility to retime or upgauge services, so airport management is signaling that it would rather close departures entirely on the highest risk strike day than attempt to operate a sparse schedule that strands passengers without ground connections.

On the ground, SNCB's strike window overlaps almost perfectly with the national action, and union communications suggest that the operator will run only bare bones "guaranteed" trains, with most regular intercity departures cancelled and many smaller stations seeing no service at all during peak commuting hours. That matters for airport access, because both Brussels Airport and Charleroi rely on rail connections that will be unreliable or unavailable for much of the three days.

STIB's own messaging is blunt. The company expects staffing to fall "well below legal minimum thresholds" and has told riders to plan for very limited metro and tram frequencies and to consider alternatives such as bike share, walking, taxis, or ride hailing where available. In practical terms, that makes downtown Brussels a poor base for travelers who need to reach airports, major rail stations, or EU quarter offices during the strike window.

Airline Waivers And What To Watch

Against this backdrop, Air Canada has become the first foreign carrier to publish a detailed goodwill policy specifically tied to the Belgian strikes. The waiver, summarized by VisaHQ and Canadian trade outlets, applies to passengers who bought tickets on or before November 11, 2025, for travel to, from, or through Brussels on November 25 or 26.

Under the policy, eligible customers may make one change free of charge, with no change fee and no fare difference, to rebook travel between November 24 and December 3, 2025, as long as they stay in the same cabin and on flights operated by Air Canada, United Airlines, or Lufthansa Group carriers. Changes must be processed at least two hours before scheduled departure, and outside the rebooking window normal fare rules and any additional fare differences will apply.

United has also published a "Brussels Industrial Action" waiver on its Jetstream portal, covering travel dates of November 25 and 26 and allowing affected passengers to move to alternate departures within a set window while remaining in the same cabin and routing. Lufthansa Group is separately flagging "flight irregularities at Brussels Airport due to a national manifestation on November 26" and warning of schedule adjustments, which typically triggers standard rebooking options when flights are cancelled or significantly delayed.

Brussels Airlines, which anchors the home carrier operation at Brussels Airport, has already cut dozens of flights in previous national actions and is expected to thin its late November schedule again once minimum service commitments with ground handlers are finalised. Other European carriers are likely to move more quietly, pairing tactical cancellations with free date change windows for passengers directly affected by cancelled or severely delayed flights.

The pattern is clear. Airlines now see the November 24 to 26 window as a high probability disruption scenario and are shifting from generic "monitor the situation" advisories to concrete options for changing travel dates.

Security Climate And Border Checks

The industrial action is unfolding against a security backdrop that is already tighter than usual. The U S State Department's travel advisory for Belgium remains at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, citing an ongoing risk of terrorist violence and highlighting transportation hubs such as airports, train stations, and metro systems as potential targets.

On top of that, Belgium has reintroduced additional entry checks at internal Schengen borders and key inland transport nodes, with official guidance warning that these controls, aimed largely at irregular migration and security threats, will remain in place through at least December 2025. Checks can occur on major roads leading into Belgium, motorway rest areas, international bus and train services, and intra Schengen flights, and travelers are required to carry passports at all times.

That combination means airport runs and cross border trips will already feel slower and more document heavy than in past years. Layering a three day national strike on top increases the probability of long tailbacks on motorway approaches, spot checks around airport access roads, and crowded alternative services as travelers shift from rail to coaches and rideshares.

Rerouting And Practical Workarounds

For travelers who can still adjust plans, the cleanest solution is to avoid the November 24 to 26 window entirely. That can mean bringing a trip forward to arrive or depart by Sunday, November 23, or pushing non essential travel into the first week of December, when rail and urban transit should be back to normal, and border checks remain the only extra friction.

If flights or hotel dates are fixed, the next best lever is rerouting. Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt are all realistic alternates for Brussels bound traffic and are already absorbing some corporate rerouting as multinationals move meetings away from Brussels for the strike days. In practice, that can look like flying into Amsterdam, then taking a Thalys or InterCity train on a non strike day, or flying into Paris or Frankfurt, overnighting near the airport, and continuing into Belgium by road once the strike period ends.

Within Belgium, the guidance is harsh but simple. Do not plan on using normal rail or metro patterns between November 24 and 26, especially for airport access or tight connections. Allow far more time than usual for any essential airport transfer, consider booking hotels near Brussels Airport rather than in the city center, and be prepared to rely on taxis, ride hailing, or pre booked private transfers if they are operating.

Corporate travel teams should already be identifying all Brussels itineraries that touch November 24 to 26, proactively contacting travelers about waivers and rerouting options, and moving in person meetings to remote formats or alternative locations where possible.

Final Thoughts

With the strike calendar now fixed and multiple airlines and governments treating November 24 to 26 as a discrete disruption window, Brussels is no longer a "wait and see" situation for late November. It is a known risk period that justifies early rebooking and rerouting, especially for holiday travelers and business trips with inflexible commitments.

The appearance of formal waivers from Air Canada, United, and Lufthansa Group is a strong signal that travelers should act now while inventory remains available, rather than hoping that the strikes will fizzle. If you must be in Belgium that week, focus on reducing touchpoints with the most fragile parts of the system, which are rail, metro, and airport security, and shift as much travel as possible outside the November 24 to 26 core.