Just like Easter, the official start of the summer air traffic control strike season is a moveable feast. Normally it is French workers who walk out en masse to scupper the travel plans of tens of thousands. But, rather like the start of the Tour de France, sometimes it begins elsewhere.
This year, Belgian air-traffic control slightly jumped the gun, walking out on 31 March. The last day of March technically qualifies as “summer” because the northern hemisphere airlines switch from their winter schedules when the clocks go forward. But while the stoppage grounded all flights to and from Brussels and Charleroi airport, the wider impact was limited.
