Flights, train affected by Belgian strike
Print Edition
BELGIAN unions grounded all flights, halted all trains and closed hundreds of factories and offices in a nationwide strike in protest over the government's planned pension reforms and budget cuts.
In the country’s first general strike yesterday since 2005, Brussels Airport canceled around 600 flights as a stoppage by air traffic controllers meant no planes could take off or land in Belgium.
Eurostar, which operates high-speed rail services between Brussels and London, terminated all Brussels-bound trains in Lille, France. Most trains on the high-speed Thalys link to Germany, France and the Netherlands were also cancelled. Local bus, tram and metro services were hit.
However, Belgian highways were surprisingly clear and automobile association Touring said many people had clearly got the message to work at home or take a day off. At the port of Antwerp, among Europe’s busiest, more than 50 vessels were unable to enter or leave.
Unions called the strike a great success, but Flemish business group Voka said 77 percent of the firms it surveyed in Brussels and the northern region of Flanders had all their workers in.
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