A symbolic start: 3 passenger flights to leave Brussels
1st passenger flight leaves Brussels since March 22 attacks
(about 3 hours later)
BRUSSELS — In what officials acknowledge is a symbolic gesture, three passenger flights will be taking off from Brussels Airport on Sunday after a 12-day shutdown caused by a deadly bombing attack.
BRUSSELS — A Brussels Airlines flight heading to the Portuguese city of Faro has taken off from Brussels Airport — the first passenger flight to leave the airport since suicide bombings on March 22 blew up its departures terminal.
Arnaud Feist, the CEO of Brussels Airport Co., says the Brussels Airlines flights to Athens, Turin in Italy and Faro in Portugal were “a sign of hope” and a demonstration of “shared will” that even partial passenger service could resume so soon following “the darkest days in the history of aviation in Belgium.”
Arnaud Feist, the CEO of Brussels Airport Co., says the three flights leaving Sunday are “a sign of hope” that even partial passenger service could resume so soon following “the darkest days in the history of aviation in Belgium.”
The airport has been closed since two devastating suicide bombings on March 22 in its main terminal and one in a Brussels subway train killed 32 victims and wounded 270. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group.
The airport has been closed since suicide bombings at the airport and in the Brussels subway killed 32 victims and wounded 270. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group.
Feist said Belgium’s biggest airport should be back at around 20 percent of capacity on Monday and able to process 800 passengers an hour. Speaking at a news conference Saturday, he hoped that full service at the airport could be restored by the end of June or the beginning of July in time for the summer vacation season.
Security at the airport was tight Sunday with completely new check-in procedures for passengers.
Prior to the attacks, the key European aviation hub usually handled about 600 flights a day. It served 1.5 million passengers in February.
Other planes scheduled to leave included Brussels Airlines flights to Athens and Turin, Italy.
New security measures have been ordered at the airport to minimize the chances of any repeat attacks.
Police on Sunday were conducting spot checks of vehicles before they arrive, and a large white tent was set up outside the terminal to screen IDs and travel documents before allowing anyone to enter the building. A drop-off parking area outside the terminal has been closed.
The bombers entered the check-in area with suitcases packed with explosives and nails, and the resulting blasts collapsed the ceiling and shattered windows in addition to killing 16 people.
The attacks have prompted a wider discussion among aviation authorities in many countries over whether to impose routine security checks at the entry to airport terminals
Until the terminal can be fully repaired, Feist said departing passengers will first enter a temporary structure erected on the tarmac, then go to a specially built check-in area.
There will be no access by rail or public transport to the airport for the foreseeable future, he said.
Delta, meanwhile, said it was suspending service between Atlanta and Brussels until March 2017 due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the airport’s re-opening and weakening demand. It still plans to resume service between New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and Brussels once the Brussels Airport provides clearance.
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John-Thor Dahlburg contributed.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
