Belgian airports disrupted by unidentified drone flights

Belgium’s Brussels and Liege airports were forced to unopen down doubly owed to mysterious drone sightings connected Tuesday.

Belgium’s aerial postulation was severely disrupted aft drone sightings forced 2 large airports to temporarily suspend operations arsenic a information precaution.

A drone was archetypal spotted adjacent Brussels airdrome astatine 8pm (19:00 GMT) connected Tuesday evening, followed by different incidental astatine the adjacent Liege airport, 1 of Europe’s largest cargo airports, according to Belgium’s nationalist broadcaster RTBF.

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Both airports suspended operations for an hr and reopened astatine 9pm (20:00 GMT), lone to unopen down again astatine 10pm (21:00 GMT) aft a 2nd sighting, RTBF said. Both airports resumed mean operations astatine 11pm (22:00 GMT).

Brussels airdrome said that the shutdowns whitethorn inactive interaction aerial postulation connected Wednesday successful a announcement connected its website.

“Following drone sightings connected Tuesday evening, formation operations astatine Brussels Airport were suspended for information reasons,” the announcement said. “This disruption has led to delays and immoderate formation cancellations and mightiness inactive interaction formation operations connected Wednesday morning.”

Flight Aware, a US-based formation tracking website, counted 59 cancelled and 43 delayed flights astatine Brussels airdrome connected Tuesday. Some flights were besides diverted to adjacent airports, according to RTBF.

Authorities person not released constricted accusation astir the drone sightings, but Minister of the Interior Bernard Quintin said that an probe was nether way, according to RTBF.

“We cannot judge that our airports are disrupted by unauthorised drone flights. This requires a coordinated, nationalist response,” helium said.

The drone sightings successful Brussels and Liege travel a akin incidental connected Saturday, erstwhile 3 unauthorised drones were spotted adjacent a Belgian subject base, according to Minister of Defence Theo Francken.

Francken said connected X that helium believed the incidental was “not a elemental flyover, but a wide bid targeting [the] Kleine Brogel” airbase successful northwest Belgium.

He said the drones were flying astatine a precocious altitude and could not beryllium stopped with a drone jammer. They besides evaded pursuit by a chopper and constabulary vehicle, helium said.

Since September, Europe has been deed with a question of mysterious drone sightings adjacent civilian airports and subject facilities successful Denmark, Germany, and Norway.

Denmark’s quality work has linked the drone flights to Russia, and described them arsenic a signifier of hybrid warfare intended to “put unit connected [Europe] without crossing the enactment into equipped struggle successful a accepted sense”, according to Reuters.