[Charles-P]

I thought Forum readers might be interested in the latest developments at Brussels Zaventem following the terrorist attacks earlier in the year.

There was a initial reaction of sending a lot of troops to the airport in the immediate aftermath but that has now been reduced to a smaller number although a strong military presence remains including soldiers with heavy weapons. The old ‘kiss and fly’ drop off area outside the departure terminal has been closed and this now contains a pre-terminal scanning area with bag inspections, not everyone is checked and there have been allegations of ‘ethnic profiling’ although my blonde, blue eyed daughter was recently stopped so who knows. Checks can take time and the advice is passengers travelling beyond the Schengen Zone to arrive three hours before their departure time. Two hours should be enough for travel within the zone. For obvious reasons they have a very robust attitude to unattended bags and there have been instances of bags been subject to controlled explosions by the Army.

Much of the old car parking facilities are still closed making public transport or taxis a much better option (the train station is in the basement of the airport rather like Schipol). Car parks for the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton Brussels are closed. Inside the team has done a great job in rebuilding following the explosions and it is hard to find any evidence of the damage.

This week in the Belgian media there has been an announcement regarding a new CCTV system for all approach roads that will include both number plate and face recognition technology although the Police trade union has objected to this on safety grounds (more likely he wants to maintain the generous overtime his members have been receiving)

The Arrival hall that was closed for a while has now reopened but the police do check people wishing to wait there and it mostly only has taxi drivers most of the time.

[CornishExile]

Good to see that BRU is progressing with the recovery programme after the horrendous events in March.

I am due to transit BRU next month (BRS to BLQ). Are you aware Charles-P of any enhanced measures airside for which one should make extra time allowance in transit?

Many thanks.

[Charles-P]

Transit through Brussels is pretty smooth, there are additional security personal inside the terminal who are carrying our random checks but this is not impacting on transit times. I understand the e-reader passport system is still closed off but as that was mostly rubbish and rarely as fast as dealing with a person that is no great loss.

1 user thanked author for this post.

CornishExile

[FDOS_UK]

Well, these posts seem to be original works 😉

[Charles-P]

Latest Developments:Press Release

Temporary pre-check structures at Brussels Airport are being dismantled
October 19, 2016

By 7 November all pre-checking white tents opposite the Brussels Airports departure hall will have disappeared. The airport starts to disassemble these temporary structures on 24 October. Several new, less visible safety measures will be introduced instead. The fact that these tents are disappearing is an important step forward for Brussels Airport in its return to business as usual. The Belgian Federal Police shall also introduce new measures to guarantee safety at the airport, as has been decided by the government.

On 1 May Brussels Airport re-opened its departure hall for passengers after the attacks of 22 March. Temporary structures were erected in front of the departure hall so that passengers could be checked. Passengers had to briefly walk through them before entering the terminal.

“These tents are one of the most visible and remarkable measures which were taken after the attacks in order to reinforce safety at the airport’s public areas. By 7 November we aim to have the area where the tents are now, looking like before. Together with dismantling these structures, we are also adjusting the terminal’s entrances so as to give our passengers a more comfortable space which will simultaneously keep a high level of safety thanks to the Federal Police’s new measures”, according to Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company.

The first tent shall be dismantled on Monday 24 October and the whole process shall last until 7 November. From that day onwards passengers will not have to walk through these pre-checking tents anymore. New, less visible safety measures have been implemented by the Federal Police in order to guarantee the high level of safety requested by the central government. These measures include for example automatic recognition of number plates, facial recognition, representation of the Federal Police in the airport’s operations hub in order to guarantee better coperation between all different services,…

“Apart from the already implemented safety measures, there will also be more police officers in the field and the number of cameras is increased. I am pleased to be able to introduce this new, smart safety concept. The safety levels at the airport are increased even more with the introduction of these technological innovations. At the same time, our passengers shall notice it less”, said Minister of the Federal Public Service of the Interior and Safety Jan Jambon.

[Author]

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