Drone sightings trigger cascading airport closures across Belgium.
Suspected drone sightings disrupted air traffic across Belgium on Tuesday, forcing a ground stop at Brussels Airport — the country’s busiest hub. Departures and arrivals were halted around 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) after a drone was reported in the vicinity. Flights briefly resumed an hour later, but the airport quickly shut operations again
“There are currently no departing or arriving flights at Brussels Airport due to drone sightings around the airport,” the airport said in an evening statement. A later update warned of delays, cancellations, and possible spillover effects into Wednesday morning.
Liege Airport was also impacted, and it remained unclear when service would restart. Local media reported similar drone sightings at the Kleine-Brogel and Florennes air bases. Charleroi — Belgium’s second-largest airport — temporarily halted traffic as a precaution.
Flights were initially diverted to Liege before that airport also closed due to the suspected incursions. Aircraft were subsequently rerouted to other nearby airports, including Ostend and Charleroi in Belgium, as well as Eindhoven and Maastricht in the Netherlands.
On Monday, Defence Minister Theo Francken said authorities had opened an investigation, calling the activity “a clear mission targeting Kleine-Brogel.” Drone sightings were also reported over the weekend near Ostend Airport and Antwerp’s Deurne Airport, according to VRT.
