Brussels Airlines is facing increasing tensions, as the BBTK and ACV Puls unions filed a strike notice with Brussels Airlines on Monday afternoon following the dismissal of three flight attendants. The unions had given management until Monday afternoon to respond, but they said they had received no response.
Last week, these unions at Brussels Airlines had threatened to take action after the dismissal of 3 flight attendants who had refused to fly to Ghana after the cleaning crew reported possible bed bugs on board. As a result, the plane departed with a delay and the management did not accept that.
Last Friday, the cleaning staff of a Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-300 aircraft that had to depart for Ghana reported possible bed bugs onboard due to which five cabin crew members were hesitant to be the part of the flight.
However three of those flight attendants used the 'not fit to fly' procedure as a refusal to be the part of the crew that day. According to this procedure, crew members can always indicate just before a flight that they feel physically or mentally 'fit enough' to bear responsibility for the hundreds of passengers on an aircraft.
An external company was then called in and staff from the maintenance team of Brussels Airlines to solve the issue. They stated that it may be a false alarm. The pilot then accepted the aircraft so that it can take-off on October 24, 2025.
Brussels Airlines chose to dismiss the three flight attendants, accusing them of gross misconduct and violating company procedures.According to the management, the three crew members have caused damage to the company and customers:
"You can't just invoke that 'not fit to fly' procedure for everything," they say.
The unions say that the management of Brussels Airlines wants to set an example to the rest of the cabin crew. The three flight attendants with 30, 27 and 20 years of experience respectively were fired.
Last Saturday, the unions already organized an action without inconvenience to passengers. Because the management did not make any approaches, they are now proceeding to submit a strike notice. The management now has a week to respond. If it does not, a strike may follow.
The unions ask that the management reconsider the dismissal. Consultation about this has not yet yielded anything.
"The staff is angry," says Van Ranst. "We are going to inform them tomorrow and try to do everything we can to avert a strike. It would be inconvenient for everyone with the autumn holidays approaching."
The broader issue of employee rights and safety concerns is now at the forefront of the ongoing tension, with many questioning whether Brussels Airlines can move forward without addressing these ongoing tensions.
