Flights grounded, public transport disrupted as 80,000 people take to the streets of the Belgian capital.By News AgenciesPublished On 14 Oct 202514 Oct 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareA general strike against proposed austerity measures in Belgium has grounded flights and halted public transport networks.Approximately 80,000 people took to the streets in Brussels’s city centre on Tuesday, police said, denouncing potential cuts to social welfare programmes.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listSome of the protests devolved into scuffles, as police used tear gas and protesters set off flares and smoke bombs, according to The Associated Press news agency. Several dozen protesters were detained, AP reported.Some demonstrators carried red prohibition signs with the number 67 on them, in reference to a planned increase in the retirement age. “Right to a pension at 65,” the signs read.Others sported a picture of conservative Prime Minister Bart De Wever with the caption “wanted for pension theft”. Riot police arrest a protester on the sidelines of a demonstration in Brussels, Belgium, October 14 [Nicolas Tucat/AFP]“We are heading towards a future that doesn’t look good,” one protester, 59-year-old Chantal Desmet, told the AFP news agency. “The government has to take notice.”Flights cancelled at Brussels InternationalWalkouts from airport security staff caused all departing flights to be cancelled at the country’s main airport – Brussels International Airport – the facility said, while protests forced cuts on most of Brussels’s underground train, bus and tram lines, according to public transport operator STIB.The protest is the latest this year against a push by De Wever’s coalition government – which faces a budget deficit that violates EU rules and is trying to find some $12bn in savings – to introduce cuts to pensions and healthcare systems. Advertisement But the prime minister’s plans have infuriated the country’s powerful trade unions, which are leading the protest and nationwide strikes. A protester with a sign depicting Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and politician Conner Rousseau that reads, ‘Wanted for pension theft’ attends a demonstration in Brussels, Belgium, October 14 [Omar Havana/Reuters]“What really mobilises people are pensions,” Thierry Bodson, leader of the 1.5 mi …
