Brussels airport resumes partial operations on Sunday

The Brussels airport resumes partial operations on Sunday, 12 days after its departure hall was destroyed by suicide bombers.

Officials said the airport will run at only 20 percent capacity with about 800 passengers expected to depart per hour.

Three flights have been planned for Sunday to Faro, Turin and Athens.

“As of tomorrow, Sunday, Brussels airport should be partially operational,” said Arnaud Feist, Chief Executive of Brussels Airport Company.

“A restart of the operations, even only partially, as quick as this is a sign of hope that shows our shared will, and our strength to resurface and not to let our heads down,” Feist told reporters.

The Federal Police had wanted passengers to be checked outside the new departure zone but airport officials refused citing passenger delays.

Federal Police spokesman Michael Jonniaux thus told the media about the alternative agreement reached.

“Before entering the airport building, an initial check will be carried out, a systematic pre-check of all people trying to enter the airport. We’re going to check their travel documents, their I.D. documents and make a comparison obviously between the two,” he said.

The Brussels airport is one of the largest in Europe handling close to 24 million passengers and 489 thousand tons of freight annually. It links the Belgian capital with 226 destinations worldwide.