Belgian pilots strike, cancelling 88 Ryanair flights

Belgian pilots staged their latest strike against Ryanair on Monday, forcing the Irish operator to cancel 88 flights through Charleroi, one of its busiest European hubs.

The strike, the third during this summer season, hit 15,000 travellers planning to fly on Monday or Tuesday, Belgium's mid-August Assumption Day public holiday, the airport said.

Pilots based in Belgium have accused Ryanair of failing to implement an agreement signed during the Covid-19 pandemic to give them extra days off in exchange for accepting a salary cut.

Ryanair has previously urged the pilots to negotiate rather than strike and noted it had reached deals on working conditions with its Italian, French and Spanish staff.

Around half of the Ryanair flights out of Charleroi are piloted by non-Belgian crews, and the company said these went ahead as planned.