Brussels Airport queues disappear after security checks eased

[BRUSSELS] Brussels Airport, where 16 people were killed in suicide attacks on March 22, appeared back to normal on Wednesday after strict security checks were eased following complaints about lengthy queues and missed flights.

The airport opened part of the departure hall on Monday, increasing flights to about 80 per cent of full capacity from some 20 per cent when it restarted a month ago.

However, queues were so long on Monday and Tuesday that passengers had to wait two to three hours just to enter the building.

Belgium's interior ministry then authorised a change to a system of just scanning the baggage of some passengers, rather than everyone, arriving at the departure hall.

"It is a busy day today with a public holiday on Thursday but the queues we saw on Monday and Tuesday have disappeared," a spokeswoman for Brussels Airport said. A Reuters journalist entered the departure hall without any delay.

Brussels Airport is the largest in Belgium and an important international hub for flights to Africa as well as for Brussels Airlines, in which Lufthansa has a stake.

REUTERS