Impact security situation Brussels & Belgium on BRU

[sn26567]

No news regarding the brussels airlines & Brussels Airport figures in November?

Apparently the terror threat in Brussels didn't have too much a bad impact on Brussels Airlines, which saw its passenger number increase by 10.9%.

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines_press_r ... ines-10-9/

[convair]

Impressive figures! The more so if compared to sister Austrian's ones you gave earlier today!

[brusselsairlinesfan]

No news regarding the brussels airlines & Brussels Airport figures in November?

Apparently the terror threat in Brussels didn't have too much a bad impact on Brussels Airlines, which saw its passenger number increase by 10.9%.

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines_press_r ... ines-10-9/

Simply astonishing! This continuous growth for several months is really incredible. Regarding November, what would have been the result without the terrosist threat... ?!

[Jetter]

No news regarding the brussels airlines & Brussels Airport figures in November?

Apparently the terror threat in Brussels didn't have too much a bad impact on Brussels Airlines, which saw its passenger number increase by 10.9%.

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines_press_r ... ines-10-9/

Does anyone know if this number includes no-shows? Normally that probably wouldn't matter much but with many people cancelling their trip it might this month.

[Inquirer]

Good to see they have managed to limit the damages; almost 11% growth isn't bad given the lock down of BRU and the fall out from it.

Of course, in perspective, November is still their 2nd worst monthly growth figure of the year if I am not mistaken, so they may well have missed a unique opportunity to book simply amazing growth figures on the back of a lengthy Lufthansa strike and the effect from additional rerouted passengers here, say the odd 20% vs. the almost usual 10-15%. Other network airlines in Europe seem to have been able to record much bigger passenger volumes in November than normal because of it, so I suppose partner airlines in the first place should have been able to benefit from it?

Does anyone know if this number includes no-shows? Normally that probably wouldn't matter much but with many people cancelling their trip it might this month.

Could also have been a contributing factor indeed, flanker.

No idea if they reimbursed everybody who elected not to fly, but in this Daily Mail article about ryanair NOT refunding passengers no longer willing to fly to Belgium from the UK, it got explicitly mentioned that in contrast, Brussels Airlines did as a gesture of goodwill:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/trave ... hreat.html
In that case, i doubt those passengers will be counted still???

Of course, many people elected not to fly to BRU over the past few weeks, but things have resumed to normal now, so they may very well pick up some of those passengers in December still. Fingers crossed for the last month of the year, I'd say.

Oh, finally, maybe somebody could also post this discussion in Press Releases/Official news forum for future reference, since every other month we discussed their figures overthere: easier for future reference than keeping it burried in this topic.

[sn26567]

Brussels Airport also recorded a 5.3% growth in November, but recognised the impact of the heightened security level:

https://www.aviation24.be/airports/brussel ... mber-2015/

[sn26567]

The impact in France, especially in Paris airports, seems to be much worse than in Brussels. And, whereas Brussels traffic seems to catch up, in France the figures remain depressed. To the point that JAL will suspend Paris CDG-Tokyo Narita in January 2016: they record some 60% fewer passengers.

[Jetter]

Belgium manages to stay in the international headlines

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... s-9pm.html

"Paris massacre fugitive 'was found 48 hours after the attack - but police let him escape because Belgian law prohibits operations after 9pm'"

This is really outrageous. With so many politicians in this tiny country our laws still don't make sense. Poor Belgium

They comments beneath that article tell it all:

"surely no country would have such an idiotic law as this in today's troubled times, or would they ?."

"Belgians need to look hard at their laws. Isis don't operate 9 to 5 !! Baffling !"

""Belgian law prohibits police operations between 9pm and 5am" - is that true? If so - it's criminals' paradise."

"Just when you think you've heard it all, something else comes along that is completely unbelievable!!! Criminals in Belgium must get away with murder....literally. Whoever heard of a modern present-day country with a part-time police force!! Whatever next? All Belgian hospitals closing at 6pm sharp? All patients to bleed to death only in office hours? The fire brigade working Monday to Friday, 9 to 5? All weekend fires to be the responsibility of the unfortunate home or business owners? How ludicrous is this? The Belgian Justice Minister will surely have questions to answer all over Europe after letting this most wanted man escape. Unbelievable!!!!!"

[sn26567]

You are right, Jetter. That's why the government has introduced a new law proposal authorising operations 24 hours a day in case of terrorism.

If Salah Abdeslam had been arrested between 9pm and 5am, his lawyers could have called for (and obtained) his immediate release, and the headlines would have been even worse in the international press.

[b720]

Yet again twisted info. Law in Belgium did not allow police to barge into someone s home between 21:00 and 5 am. Police works around the clock, but they could not ring your bell with a warrant at night. That has changed, I m sure the old law was there for a reason. Saying that police doesn't t work after hours is outrageous.. It is not the case.

[Jetter]

Twisted info indeed. But the reality doesn't need to be twisted to be baffling. This is an absurd and outrageous rule. I can understand the reactions of people from outside Belgium when hearing a rule like this exists. If it's gonna be adapted for terrorism suspects, good! But shouldn't you be able to arrest all serious criminals 24/7? Is a murder not enough to have your sleep disturbed? Belgium makes itself look like a bunch of idiots yet again, this is so bizarre that it makes headlines worldwide:

Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/belgian-pol ... 1450281143
Bangkok Post: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/7 ... tacks-raid
Qatar: http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/i ... lice-media

I can't think of any other civilized state where this could happen, and news like this surely won't help BRU tourism to pick up after the post-terror dip.

[Conti764]

Search warrant only between 6am and 9pm, on a voluntary base 24/7...

[Jetter]

You're misleading towards the other side. Of course checks need to be in place. But as I'm understanding the current Belgium rule you can't make an arrest at night inside a house under any circumstances, that is unheard of.

Main source for the story is Belgium's own federal prosecutor. Washington Post: "Belgian police delayed a raid in the search for Paris terror attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam last month because of a legal ban on conducting them at night, the federal prosecutor’s office said Wednesday. The acknowledgment could further fuel controversy over Belgium’s handing of the investigation into the Paris attacks." I don't see much misleading there.

What does that have to do with police having the right to invade whatever house they want? If the law would have allowed for a nightly raid provided approval from independent judicial authorities I'm sure they would have been able to proceed when there were strong indications a main suspect of a mass murder is inside a house.

EDIT: nice ninja-edit

[Conti764]

Sorry for the late edit, I mistakenly mixed up things...

Indeed, Belgian law prohibits entering homes between 9pm and 5am, thus also making arrests...

On the other hand, nothing prevents police from doing a stake out where a wanted fugitive can be apprehended the moments he walks onto a public street. They could have staked the house untill 9am and then barge in with a warrant.

The law isn't perfect, far from, but it is fabricated to uphold rights we deamed important not to long ago. Changing them is fine be my, but all I want to say is that a search warrant isn't the only way to make arrests. In fact, those are more for collecting evidence...

[Jetter]

The stories are a bit conflicting, but it seems they did wait and Abdeslam might have gotten away meanwhile stuffed in furniture that was being moved. He probably learned this trick from the famous escape of Hugo de Groot to Belgium http://www.hollandhistory.net/famous_du ... otius.html

Would have been better if he knew the law and made a statement to police. I imagine a scene like
At least a good thing the law is being changed now.

[sn26567]

During the press teleconference following the presentation of the new SN long-haul flights, Bernard Gustin mentioned that, if there had been a drop in reservations during the days following the Paris attacks, the situation is now back to normal.

[sn26567]

Visit.brussels aims to convince tourists that Brussels is still a destination of choice

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Jan 07, 2016

There has been a noticeable decline in the number of foreign tourists in the Brussels-Capital Region since the infamous ‘Brussels lockdown’. This decline has serious consequences, particularly for players in the tourist industry. visit.brussels is launching the #CallBrussels campaign in order to reassure tourists and to convince them that Brussels is still a destination of choice.

Over the past few weeks, the international media has portrayed Brussels as a war zone that tourists would do well to avoid. This has obviously had dire consequences for the tourist sector, which is currently experiencing a noticeable decline. Yet life goes on, and the European capital is as packed as ever with tourist and cultural activities. With the international #CallBrussels campaign, visit.brussels aims to convince tourists intending to visit Brussels that there is no reason to revise their travel plans.

People well placed to reassure tourists

Who better than the people of Brussels to answer the questions that tourists hesitant about travelling to Brussels might have…

In order to foster exchanges between the main players of tourism in Brussels (namely tourists from the following countries: France, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain) and the people of Brussels, visit.brussels set up telephone boxes in three emblematic locations of the Brussels-Capital Region: at the Mont des Arts, on the Place Flagey and on the Place Communale in Molenbeek. Passers-by will be able to answer questions from foreign tourists, who can choose which telephone box to call via the website www.call.brussels, and a webcam will film the surroundings. The interactions will be broadcast live on the website www.call.brussels.

The campaign will be followed by the international release of the video clips shot during the action, via social media and through the purchasing of media space on websites in priority countries.

A great opportunity for the people of Brussels to defend their Region

The people of Brussels are proud of their Region and are no doubt eager to re-establish the truth regarding the situation in Brussels. Through this action, visit.brussels gives them the possibility of expressing themselves on the topic and of revitalizing the economic life of Brussels by persuading tourists not to cancel their trip to the city. This campaign is carried out together with Toerisme Vlaanderen and Wallonie-Bruxelles Tourisme, which will relay the whole campaign via their international networks.

Source: eTN