This Major European Airport Will Be Closed on March 31 to Departing Flights—Here’s Why

• Brussels Airport is advising passengers that it will be closed to departing flights due to a strike.
• The strike will occur on Monday, March 31, 2025. 
• Airlines have published advisories to help travelers re-book and find alternative options.

Travelers will need to pack their patience if flying to a popular European airport. 

Brussels Airport recently announced it would be closed to departing flights on Monday, March 31, 2025 due to a planned strike from several labor organizations including security staff. 

“As departing passenger flights are cancelled, cancellations are also possible on arriving flights,” Brussels Airport stated in an advisory on its website. “We advise all passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline or on our website or the app.”

The strike could have impacts throughout Europe and global travel, as multiple international carriers fly to and from the Brussels Airport, including Air Canada, Austrian, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, easyJet, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Icelandair, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Vueling.

Brussels Airlines advised travelers that it has not yet canceled any flights, but is providing free rebooking options and refunds as a precautionary step to alleviate any potential travel congestion.

Several American airlines have also been publishing travel alerts. For example, United Airlines recently published an advisory for travelers to Brussels between March 30, 2025 and March 31, 2025 that they can reschedule their trip without a change fee. The airline is also allowing passengers to fly into either Amsterdam (AMS) or Paris (CDG) without a difference in fare. 

Alternative airports that travelers could consider flying into include Frankfurt and Cologne in Germany, or Zurich, Switzerland. Several European rail providers provide nonstop train travel between Amsterdam and Brussels, and the journey takes approximately two hours and seven minutes. 

More than 1.5 million passengers traveled through Brussels Airport in January 2025, which was an 8.2 percent increase from the same time period in 2024.