Brussels Airlines has axed 148 flights as it struggles to cope with the demand and staff shortages that have caused mass disruption in recent days.
Maaike Andries, Spokesperson for Brussels Airlines issued a statement for the Lufthansa Group airline indicating that it was axing those flights in consultation with staff who said the workload was now too great to cope with. The carrier is axing certain flights where there are sufficient alternatives available to passengers.
"We have had a very successful recruitment campaign in recent months to enable our growth this summer. In particular, 225 additional cabin crew members have been hired, many of whom have experience at Brussels Airlines. The airport staff and the maintenance department have also recruited extra staff members. No flights were cancelled due to staff shortages. The proposed flight schedule was fully in line with the workforce and within the agreements of the current CLA.
The cancellation of 148 flights will have an impact on less than 1% of the passengers, who will be contacted by the airline on Thursday, June 9, via e-mail and text message and will immediately receive the details of their new flight. If the customer is not satisfied with the proposed alternative, we will look at other solutions together. Finally, if no solution is found, the passenger can always request a refund.
We hope that the discussions with the social partners can still be continued in order to find effective solutions for the coming summer. A strike at the beginning of the summer would come at the worst possible time for our passengers, for all our colleagues and for our company which is still trying to climb out of the red every day."
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