Strikes cost Brussels Airlines €14 million in first quarter

Strikes at Brussels Airlines in the first quarter of this year cost the airline an estimated €14 million, the company has announced.

Multiple strikes from staff took place, in protest about pay and working conditions, but even just the threat of a strike had an impact on the airline’s finances.

Pilots went on strike for a day in mid-January and flight attendants did for three days at the end of February.

Pilots threatened another strike at the end of March, but while it was eventually averted, “as soon as a strike is threatened, we see an immediate impact on our travellers,” said the airline’s chief financial officer Nina Öwerdick.

“With uncertainty, people stop booking,” Öwerdick said.

Agreements were eventually reached for both pilots and cabin crew, and overall Brussels Airlines saw a 3% rise in revenue over last year.

But even €289 million in revenue does not put the airline in the green: its operating loss in the first quarter came to €58 million, compared to €43 million a year earlier.

Losses in the first quarter are not uncommon for airlines, as travel demand is lower during this period.

Brussels Airlines still maintains its ambition to make more profit this year than in 2023, when operating profit for the full year came to a record €53 million.

German airline group Lufthansa, of which Brussels Airlines is a part, expects that the reopening of the route to the Kenyan capital Nairobi in June after a nine-year closure will help improve the financial situation in the second quarter.