Problems expected tomorrow at Brussels airport passport control
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There might be some chaos on Friday in Brussels airport after the Belgian airport police announced they will be carrying out a work to rule at passport control.
The action, the police said, is not intended to upset travellers, but to highlight the problem of a shortage of manpower within the service. According to police unions, the airport detail is operating with a shortage of 140 officers.
Talks with the federal police management have been going on for some time, but matters came to a head on Wednesday when a meeting broke up without finding common ground.
The plan is to begin actions on Friday, the last day of school before the Carnival holiday, but unions have warned that spontaneous actions could even take place today (Thursday). In any event, the situation is sure to bleed over to the weekend, the real start of the holiday period for families.
The airport earlier said it was expecting some 650,000 passengers to pass through over the course of the holiday, which lasts until Sunday 1 March.
To cope with the numbers, the airport on Wednesday once again introduced its separate Family Line for people travelling with children. Masks and crayons will be on hand for bored children.
