news agency
BRUSSELS (AP) — Flights at Belgium’s main international airport were not yet back to normal Wednesday after drones forced it to temporarily close. Prime Minister Bart de Wever called a meeting with senior ministers to discuss security concerns.
This is the first time that Brussels Airport has been closed due to drones. Over the weekend, unidentified drone flights were detected near a military base where US nuclear weapons are stored.
Brussels Airport reported that delays and cancellations could still occur after Tuesday night’s closure “for security reasons” and apologized, saying that “the safety of our passengers and staff remains our top priority.”
De Wever called a meeting of the Belgian National Security Council, which includes the ministers of defence, interior, justice and foreign affairs, on Thursday morning.
Although the identity of the operators of the drones discovered in recent days has not been established, Defense Minister Theo Franken indicated that the flights near the Klein-Brugel air base on Saturday and Sunday appeared to be a “spying operation” aimed at “destabilizing” the population.
Last month, several drones were spotted over another Belgian military base near the German border. The operators have not been identified.
In recent months, drone incidents across Europe have led to airports being temporarily closed. A drone seen late Friday night at Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport halted flights for about two hours. It was not clear who was responsible.
___
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative AI tool.