All flights from Belgium's main two airports in Zaventem and Charleroi have been cancelled, Brussels' and Flanders' public transport networks will be heavily disrupted and rubbish collection services may not go ahead.

However, translating this into law is another question. One expert said doing so would be "unfeasible" and even "absurd". Instead, rigid rules should be relaxed to encourage the use of all languages.

A shift is already happening unofficially (and technically, in some cases, in violation of the 1966 language law). Some communes translate their website pages into English, and others even offer municipal services in English to residents who do not speak French or Dutch.