A national airport is canceling all flights this week

Over the last month, several European airports have shut down all operations for reasons ranging from unidentified drone sightings to travel disruptions around strikes.

Throughout November, Dutch authorities shut down Eindhoven Airport (EIN) several times after multiple drones were spotted in the airspace around the second-largest airport in the country, Reuters reported.

In September, airports in Copenhagen and Oslo were also forced to briefly shut down operations amid drone sightings, according to BBC. Meanwhile, Belgium has seen the highest rate of disruption with a Euronews analysis showing that the country saw 10 drone incidents that disrupted traffic at its airports in September 2025 alone.

Although Brussels Airport (BRU) had shut down multiple times for periods ranging from one hour to a full day since the start of November, the latest shutdown is not related to drones but a three-day national strike taking place across Belgium on the week starting from November 24.

Brussels Airport expects "major disruptions to our airport operations"

On Nov. 26, all departures out of the largest airport in Belgium have been proactively canceled, as many of the staff overseeing airport handling and security prepare for a national strike against austerity measures the Belgian parliament is pushing in a new budget.

"Due to the national industrial action on Wednesday, November 26, in which the staff of the security and handling service provider is participating, we unfortunately expect major disruptions to our airport operations on that day," Brussels Airport confirmed in a statement that also warns of disruptions expected "on some arriving flights" and public transport into the airport.

Related: Another regional airline cancels all flights, forced to shut down

The first two days of the week will see labor action only from public-sector employees, while those working for the private sector are expected to join on Nov. 26 — this includes hundreds of employees working for Brussels Airport.

These are the flights and airlines disrupted by the Brussels Airport closure this week

The shutdown affects over 30 flights on airlines such as Brussels Airlines, British Airways, easyJet, and Ryanair.

While proximity of both Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) and Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) has always kept Brussels Airport in the status of a smaller regional airport, both mainstream and low-cost airlines rely on it for service directly into the capital of Belgium.

Specific routes called off by British Airways and easyJet include flights to Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted airports in London, as well as other routes to Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Manchester.

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"To ensure the safety of passengers and staff, we have decided, in consultation with the airlines, not to operate any departing flights on 26 November," the Brussels Airport statement reads further. "In the upcoming days, the airlines will contact passengers directly to inform them of their options."

A smaller regional airport south of the capital, Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) also released a statement saying that its "departures and arrivals cannot be guaranteed" amid "the shortage of personnel needed" to conduct operations and maintain safety practices on Nov. 26.

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