Reopening Brussels Airport after the 22/03/2016 terror attacks

[lumumba]

No I go fast lane...

[RoMax]

No I go fast lane...

Which often isn't much better than the regular ones. 30 minutes can be done, but is always risky.

Anyway, at least see what the impact will be in real life before making the decision that you will not use BRU anymore because just because of the pre-check.

[b720]

I use fast lane, every week. Max was 10 min. I arrive 30-40 min before the flight as well, never missed one. Also booked MIA for end of april, from CDG .. And booked next 2 weeks GVA from ANR.
Have a flight scheduled this week from BRU, shall cancel. I can not be 2 hours in advance for a 55 min flight. One will need to take half a day off to get on a European flight! Let s see how long this shall last..

[lumumba]

No I go fast lane...

Which often isn't much better than the regular ones. 30 minutes can be done, but is always risky.

Anyway, at least see what the impact will be in real life before making the decision that you will not use BRU anymore because just because of the pre-check.

Brussels is not competitive anymore I arrive 20 minutes before the train to Schiphol and I wait 1h20 in Schiphol that's perfect .
If I have to go true Brussels today it's at least 2h before my flight and again 2hours in Munich or Frankfurt ...

Maybe Lufhansa can start some flights from Charleroi also with a fast lane than we have a choice!!!

[b720]

And you can work, read, or watch a movie on the train... Instead of standing in line and running from one security check to another!

[sean1982]

No I go fast lane...

Which often isn't much better than the regular ones. 30 minutes can be done, but is always risky.

Anyway, at least see what the impact will be in real life before making the decision that you will not use BRU anymore because just because of the pre-check.

Yeah sure, a lot of many non-belgian people think like this some realism please. BRU like it is now is dead in the water

[Conti764]

I think there's something fishy about the police unions themselves. They are probably out to ruin BRU so they can use the 'brugpensioen' asap.

Yeah right... It does 't work that way

[Apuneger]

It seems that some forum members and companies have already made up their mind and will not use BRU anymore if the security checks mean additional (useless) time being added to their journey. We don't have to agree with this, but it's their choice so we must respect that.

While I really do hope of course the following theory will never occur, I wonder what would happen if one or more new attack hits European major hubs... (and leads to more airports implementing pre-terminal security checks). Will they all come back with the (false) idea that BRU is suddenly the safest European hub and all of the other hubs are unsafe?

I do agree that these security checks should not become a burden, and should be performed in a fast and efficient way.

Ivan

[Conti764]

1. They don't NEED more police; in fact they will NEED less since the building will now be "safe". But, they pretend they were understaffed before, so, naturally, they ask for more people (Have you ever seen a union not asking for more people?)

Oh for crying out loud... People should really stop making up their own theories... They are understaffed and heavily so. The number of workforce is half of what it was five years ago and in those five years, the airport kept growing. Infrastructure is a mess and border illegal and the airport authorities lacked any sense of security for ages...

I keep repeating that demanding a pre-terminal check is madness, but for all the rest they were in every right doing so...

[sn26567]

During the first days of operation, the B pier will be closed. Non-Schengen flights will leave from the T-gates in Pier A.

[lumumba]

I realy hope that Lufhansa start to fly to Antwerp that would be fantastic a easy airport to start a long trip.
They do it already from Rotterdam.
Or maybe BMI can start again from Liege to Munich???

[sn26567]

Before looking at alternative airports, be positive! BRU has a captive customer base (European institutions, NATO, headquarters of multinational companies, etc.), and this is the kind of clientèle that it cannot disappoint. Hence I'm convinced that the airport management will do the utmost to make travelling through Brussels as convenient and easy as before the attacks. Just give them some time to allow the dust to settle.

[dna]

Just heard on VRT news that Delta is cancelling Atlanta service from Brussels for the rest of the year. Can anyone confirm this? I wonder what the effect of the current situation will be on other long-haul carriers serving Brussels.

[Boeing767copilot]

Correct, and others will follow, for sure.

[Freken]

Just heard on VRT news that Delta is cancelling Atlanta service from Brussels for the rest of the year. Can anyone confirm this? I wonder what the effect of the current situation will be on other long-haul carriers serving Brussels.

Not decided yet if this is for the full year. But it has been temporarily removed from the GDS, which does signify something.

[euroflyer]

I do really hope this will be only the procedure for the first days or weeks and than everybody will come back to normal procedures - I am doing several flights a month to/from Brussels, all short haul from within Europe and for those flights (usually in and out on the same day) this is ridiculous; I usually arrive at BRU 25 Min before departure and never missed any flight so far (after several hundred flights ...) - I will rebook now and take the train from FRA, CDG OR London to BRU; other meetings will have to be moved away from Brussels ; nobody should count too much on EU institutions, I am taking part in some of their meetings regularly and some have already been moved to other places in Europe for the next months as Brussels is not convenient anymore for the majority of participants ... This is really sad ....

[b-west]

You must be in an excellent physical condition if you arrive 25 min before departure and never missed your flight. Especially as you're supposed to be at the gate 15 min before departure. That leaves you with 10 min to clear security and, if you're flying extra schengen, immigration, and make a dash for your gate. Not a mean feat if your plane leaves from A60... Or from a bus gate...

[lumumba]

You must be in an excellent physical condition if you arrive 25 min before departure and never missed your flight. Especially as you're supposed to be at the gate 15 min before departure. That leaves you with 10 min to clear security and, if you're flying extra schengen, immigration, and make a dash for your gate. Not a mean feat if your plane leaves from A60... Or from a bus gate...

It works perfectly well with the fast lane and the Internet check in,same for me I arrive with the train between 25 to 35 minutes before and I never had any problem .
I fly 30 times year from Brussels... not anymore
I will have to restart to become gold with Skyteam like before.
But there is still a solution,if Lufhansa makes a air bridge a smaller one between Antwerp and Frankfurt.

[Kris]

I do really hope this will be only the procedure for the first days or weeks and than everybody will come back to normal procedures - I am doing several flights a month to/from Brussels, all short haul from within Europe and for those flights (usually in and out on the same day) this is ridiculous; I usually arrive at BRU 25 Min before departure and never missed any flight so far (after several hundred flights ...) - I will rebook now and take the train from FRA, CDG OR London to BRU; other meetings will have to be moved away from Brussels ; nobody should count too much on EU institutions, I am taking part in some of their meetings regularly and some have already been moved to other places in Europe for the next months as Brussels is not convenient anymore for the majority of participants ... This is really sad ....

Let's hope so, if this new "procedure" adds too much additional time just for getting to the airport and waiting in lines, it will hurt the airport tremendously. They will then probably not need more then 50% of their original capacity for the foreseable future unfortunately. I already explained the decision of my own company in an earlier post... But lets wait and see how it goes, I have 2 flights scheduled next 2 weeks, already booked before 22/03.

[dna]

I have two return flights booked the next two weeks, but it looks as if I will have to cancel both. What makes it really complicated is that I don't have a clue as to what the situation will be in 12 days from now. What airlines will operate, what schedules... Due to fly to Geneva next week, and to Dubrovnik the week after.
I understand Brussels Airport has a lot to deal with, but the communication the last week has been below par. I hope they will be able to provide travellers with much more detailed information soon.