About 11,000 passengers were affected by the suspension of Belgian Airlines passenger flights for travel

The Belgian airline announced on Monday that it will stop “chronically unprofitable” passenger flights at the beginning of October. It is currently exported to South Africa and Mauritius. The company will focus on freight transportation and aircraft leasing between airlines for passenger and cargo flights.

It had initially said that about 20,000 passengers had already booked flights after October 3. But the company is now talking about 11,000 passengers. Advance bookings were initially included, mainly from groups and for summer 2024, but it appears no tickets have been issued or paid for yet. Belgian Airlines expects that the number of participating passengers may decrease.

The company says it will “do everything in its power” to refund the tickets. But the judge must first decide on the application for judicial reorganization. If approved, Air Belgium can negotiate debt reduction with creditors, move forward with reorganization and compensate customers.

“Belgian Airlines is well aware that the decision to stop causes inconvenience to customers and agencies that worked with us,” the company said. The European Travel Agencies Association (ECTAA) complained on Thursday that refunds would not be given immediately. This also has consequences for travel agencies.