Belgium crisis to hit fliers travelling via Brussels

With a series of strikes in Belgium crippling rail and air travel for the past few weeks, those travelling to Europe or the US via Brussels are likely to get affected. Jet Airways, apart from several other airlines operating on that route, are either canceling their flights or re-routing them keeping in mind the major strike scheduled on Monday.

According to reports, lakhs of workers are expected to march down the streets of Brussels and in other parts of the country in protest against the government's free-market reforms and austerity measures. Though the protest is said to have started on a peaceful note, over the past couple of weeks it has taken a violent turn, with protestors throwing stones at law enforcers and burning down vehicles on the street.

A Jet Airways spokesperson said flight 9W228 Mumbai-Brussels-Newark on Monday has been canceled, as has flight 9W227 Newark-Brussels-Mumbai scheduled for Sunday. Also, flights 9W230 Delhi-Toronto and 9W229 Toronto-Delhi on December 15 will operate via Paris.

The airline added that passengers booked on Mumbai-Brussels can be rerouted to Paris (CDG), but the airline will not provide any surface transport or compensation to guests from Brussels to Paris. Similarly, those traveling to Newark can be rerouted to JFK on Etihad Airways, Air India, United Airways, Lufthansa or Emirates, but no transportation or compensation will be provided from Newark to JFK.