The airport of Charleroi will close to passengers and airlines from Tuesday evening, at 11:59 PM, until Sunday, 5 April because of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis, it announced on Friday.
Brussels South Charleroi Airport has seen its passenger numbers fall as Covid-19 has spread. In addition, many states are closing their borders and no longer allow travellers from Belgium to enter their territory, explained the airport.
In addition to the decrease in the number of passengers, the airlines have also, one by one, taken the decision to suspend their routes.
The closure will last until 5 April, with a possible extension of the measure beyond that period depending on how the situation develops, the company warns.
Brussels Airport
This news comes as Brussels Airport faces calls from a leading virologist to close down if it cannot appropriately enforce social distancing measures.
Virologist Marc Van Ranst, a member of the government’s coronavirus (Covid-19) response team, said that the management of passenger flows by the country’s busiest airport was “unacceptable.”
“When I see these images, I get angry,” Van Ranst tweeted in response. “This cannot and should not be (…) this is totally unacceptable behaviour.”
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462 new people have tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19), confirmed the FPS Public Health during a press conference on Friday.
302 of the newly-infected people live in Flanders, 90 live in Wallonia, and 43 live in Brussels. The FPS does not have further information on the place of residence of 27 other people. The total number of cases in Belgium, since the beginning of the pandemic, is 2,257.
The Brussels Times
