Union urges Brussels Airport workers to refuse handling flights to Tel Aviv

Brussels Airlines is set to resume flights to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, but Belgian trade union ACV Puls is calling on airport workers to refuse handling these flights. “When politics remain deafeningly silent about Gaza, it is up to citizens to act,” said Hans Elsen, aviation union representative for ACV Puls.

The union says it will fully support employees who refuse to participate in what it describes as the “normalisation of relations with Israel.” Elsen stressed that the action is unrelated to religious or ethnic considerations.

ACV Puls criticised what it sees as a double standard in comparison to the Ukraine conflict, where flights to Russia were immediately suspended. “What was possible in one conflict apparently isn’t in another,” Elsen said.

Baggage handlers have also voiced opposition to Brussels Airlines’ return to Israel. Representatives of baggage handling company Alyzia have sent a letter to management urging an end to services for Israeli airline El Al and other carriers operating flights to and from Israel, including Brussels Airlines. They are calling on airlines to resume operations only once the “genocide in Gaza and the West Bank” has ended, Belgian daily La Libre Belgique reported.

Brussels Airlines stated that flights to Tel Aviv are being crewed exclusively by volunteers.

Since October 7, 2023, at least 62,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian sources. Despite international criticism, the Israeli army is expected to present its plan for a new offensive in Gaza within two weeks, aimed at the occupation of Gaza City.

This article is partly based on reporting by Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws