Thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled on Tuesday due to a national strike.

Two of Belgium's major airports confirmed that all flights are being cancelled.

Brussels Airport, the largest in the country, has said all departures will be cancelled today.

Cancellations are also expected to affect "some arriving flights".

Belgium's major airports have cancelled all departing flights on Tuesday (October 14) due to a national strike being held by several unions.

And Brussels South Charleroi Airport - used by Ryanair - said they would "not be able to operate scheduled departures and arrivals".

Passengers are urged to contact their airline for a refund or to be rebooked.

Belgium has as many as 120 flights a day, according to finance experts at Dot Dot Loans .

This means as many as 72 flights to and from the UK will see disruption, affecting nearly 13,000 passengers.

London Heathrow and Manchester Airport are expected to be the worst affected by cancellations.

However, Birmingham, London Gatwick, London Stansted and Edinburgh may also see some flights cancelled as well.

Eurostar is yet to cancel any trains to and from Brussels but has warned passengers to check their travel.

And local public transport such as buses and trams are also expected to be affected.

The national strike is due to industrial action over the plans to change pensions and salaries in Belgium.

Workers are taking industrial action in protest at government plans.

Sadly, any passengers who have their flight cancelled are unlikely to get compensation as it is deemed to be out of the airline's control.

However, airlines must offer a full refund or an alternative flight, even with another airline.

European airports forced to cancel all flights