[ 2016-04-01 ]

Security row keeps Brussels airport shut

Plans to partially reopen Brussels airport on
Friday evening have been halted amid a strike by
airport police over security concerns.


The Zaventem facility has been closed since a twin
suicide bomb attack on the departures hall on 22
March.

The SLFP police union told the BBC that security
measures put in place for the reopening were
insufficient.

So-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out
bombings of the airport and metro system that
killed 32 people.

Vincent Gilles, the president of the SLFP, the
largest police union in Belgium, said: "We are on
strike because of what happened on 22 March - we
cannot continue as if this day has not happened.

"The police feel the security measures put in
place by the airport company are insufficient for
those who work and use the airport."

He says metal detectors, body scanners and x-ray
machines should be set up to screen people before
they are allowed into terminals.

The authorities have so far rejected this, arguing
that such checks would create new queues outside
the buildings, leading to fresh security risks.

In an earlier statement, the airport's operators
had said a partial reopening would be possible on
Friday evening, after a temporary check-in system
had been tested and made ready.

However, it said the departures area, which was
severely damaged by the bomb attacks, would only
operate at 20% of normal capacity, receiving only
800 departing passengers per hour.

The operator said on Friday this could not now go
ahead because of the strike. Belgian media said
the government was still considering the
possibility of a reopening.

Defence Minister Steven Vandeput said: "We must
find a balance between economic needs and security
needs."

Criminal backgrounds

The airport operator's chief executive, Arnaud
Feist, said earlier this week that the airport
would take months to reopen fully.

In an earlier open letter to authorities published
by Belgian broadcaster VRT (in Dutch), police had
said they had sent "strong daily signals regarding
the overall security at the airport".

They also alleged that too many airport employees
had criminal backgrounds.

Police are still searching for the third man who
took part in the airport attacks. The man,
pictured on CCTV wearing a hat, was said to have
fled the scene without detonating his explosive
device.

The two airport bombers who died have been named
as Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui.

Bakraoui's brother, Khalid el-Bakraoui, blew
himself up at Maelbeek metro station.

Police later found a computer in which Ibrahim
el-Bakraoui left a final message.

The BBC has learned that the same computer
contained plans and photos of Prime Minister
Charles Michel's office and home.

Also on Friday, an Italian court approved the
extradition of Djamal Eddine Ouali, an Algerian
national accused of forging identity documents for
those involved in the Brussels bombings and in the
Paris attacks that killed 130 people in November.

Mr Ouali, 40, was arrested last weekend in the
southern Italian city of Salerno. The court said
he would be sent to Belgium within 10 says. His
lawyer said he would appeal.

Source - BBC

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