Between 70,000 to 80,000 people were protesting in Brussels city centre on Monday as part of a public strike, Belgian news agency Belga reported, citing police and union estimates.
The countrywide protests led to massive travel disruption in Belgium with Brussels airport forcing to cancel all departure flights due to a lack of security staff.
Some of Belgium’s major unions called for the strikes over their demand for legislative reforms to fight declining purchasing power following the COVID-19 pandemic and record inflation, Belga reports.
Brussels Airlines had already announced last week that it would cancel flights on Monday as ground personnel employed by the security company G4S were taking part in the walkouts, the news agency said.
According to the news agency, the unions expect up to 70,000 people to join a protest march in the centre of Brussels but have now revised this figure up to 80,000.
Belgian railway operator SNCB, which was not participating in the strike, had provided additional trains to allow protestors to get to the capital, according to Belga.
Other transport providers, however, were impacted by the strike with just one metro line currently operating in Brussels and public transport in some other Belgian provinces offering reduced services, Belga reports.
