Both Brussels Airport and airline company TUI is advising passengers to be aware of possible disruptions caused by the "freedom convoy en route to Brussels Airport on Monday."
The self-proclaimed "freedom convoy" is looking to demonstrate in Brussels against the coronavirus measures. The demonstration was banned by the police, however, supporters of the cause said this would not deter them from heading into the capital.
On Monday morning, the E40 motorway from Leuven in the direction of Reyers-Brussels from Sint-Stevens-Woluwe was closed by the police. So far, no participants have been spotted here, but the police expect vehicles may want to take this route to get to the centre of the city.
The road closure is affecting roads near the airport, which could possibly have an impact on traffic on the roads surrounding the airport itself.
Sluiting van de E40 komende van Leuven (richting Reyers). Fermeture de l'E40 venant de Louvain (direction Reyers). https://t.co/cli5TUKzMe
— PolBru (@zpz_polbru) February 14, 2022
"So far it is not a real problem, but we are advising passengers to be careful and to check all traffic information websites to track their route to the airport to find out if roads they need to access are congested or not," a Brussels Airport spokesperson told The Brussels Times.
"We are cooperating with the police to get the latest information. Whether there will be disruption depends mainly on where people are coming from, and whether they will need to access the ring road or not," she added.
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Passengers have been asked not to arrive at the airport early — for short- and medium-haul flights, passengers should come two hours before departure, for long-haul flights, three hours in advance — but has said they may have to leave earlier to arrive at the airport on time.
Airline company TUI said on Sunday evening in a statement that "there is a possibility that sympathisers of the 'freedom convoy' will arrive in Brussels in the coming hours," adding that disruptions cannot be ruled out, even though everything is being done to guarantee access to the airport.
"In order to minimise the risk to passengers, TUI fly strongly advises its travellers departing tomorrow, by text message, to respect their arrival time at Zaventem," the statement read.
