All airports in Belgium remain flagged as high-risk areas for Covid-19 infection by an EU aviation agency.
In a list published by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Belgium remains the only EU member state to have all airports on its territory blacklisted.
Related News
- Greece opens up for flights to Athens and Thessaloniki
- France wants to reopen borders from 15 June
- Cross-border family visits allowed from today
EASA said the list was compiled based on information from the World Health Organisation, the EU's centre for disease control and prevention and "other reputable public health institutes."
Published on 27 May and effective from 29 May, the list also includes all aerodromes in Paris' Île-de-France region as well as all airports in Italy's northern region, the original European epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic.
Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is one of four Dutch airports that are also blacklisted by the agency and in Spain, airports in and around the wider Madrid region as well as in Catalonia are also listed as high-risk areas.
The updated list comes as countries across the EU move ahead with plans to reopen borders in time for the summer, with many hoping tourism will give a boost to their ailing economies.
Following a gradual lifting of their national lockdown, authorities in Greece gave the green light to several hotels to open back up from Monday.
But in order to prevent a new flare-up of the pandemic, Greek officials said that anyone flying in from a high-risk area will be tested for Covid-19.
"If the test is negative, the passenger will self-quarantine for seven days," RTBF quoted a government official as saying. "If it is positive, the passenger is put in quarantine and under surveillance for 14 days."
In the image of Greece, several other EU countries, including neighbouring France or Iceland, have announced plans to lift their border restrictions in time for the summer.
At the weekend, Belgium's interior minister also said that the government was planning to reopen the borders from 15 June.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
