Belgium was hit by a general strike on Tuesday, which led to the cancellation of most flights at the two main airports and disrupted public transport in Brussels.
Most scheduled flights did not take off from Brussels International Airport, and half of all arrivals were canceled. The reason was that security staff responsible for baggage screening had completely stopped work. Not a single plane took off from Charleroi Airport, the country's second-largest.
Thousands of people gathered at Brussels' Gare du Nord train station to take part in a large-scale demonstration that marched through the city center. According to the transport company STIB, the strike brought large parts of the metro, bus, and tram network to a standstill. The police reported fires on the main boulevards and arrested several demonstrators.
The action was organized by the main trade unions together with activist groups such as Greenpeace and Oxfam. The protests are directed against the reform proposals of Prime Minister Bart De Wever's government, which envisage changes to the pension and labor market systems in order to reduce government spending.
(reuters, sie)