On Thursday afternoon, the departure hall of Brussels Airport in Zaventem was evacuated for approximately two hours after a suspicious piece of luggage was found.
Around 4:00 PM on Thursday, the departure hall of the airport was evacuated because a suspicious suitcase was found. The DOVO/SEDEE demining service immediately came on site, and confirmed that it was a false alarm at around 6:00 PM.
DOVO/SEDEE confirmed it was a false alarm. #brusselsairport is accessible again & public transport has resumed operations.
— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) July 8, 2021
The airport is accessible again, and public transport has also resumed its operations by now, according to the airport
"The situation is gradually returning to normal. Our staff is on site to put everything in order," the airport tweeted. "Flights have been delayed by 1h30 to 2h. No flights have had to be cancelled yet."
The situation is gradually returning to normal. Our staff is on site to put everything in order. Flights have been delayed by 1h30 to 2h. No flights have had to be cancelled yet.
— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) July 8, 2021
"The police decided to evacuate the entire departure hall, as well as the vaccination centre in the Skyhall," Brussels Airport spokesperson Nathalie Pierard told Het Laatste Nieuws.
"As the evening rush hour was about to start, there were quite a lot of passengers in the departure hall," she added. "They were evacuated to the curb just before the departure hall."
It is not unusual for a lost suitcase to be found at the airport, and several were found left behind during the past few days, according to reports by VRT. It is not clear why the police decided to evacuate the departure hall.
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, a federal police spokesperson told local media that they did not "want to take any risks."
Update: This story has been updated to reflect that it was a false alarm, and the departure hall is no longer cleared.
