Flights grounded at Brussels Airport after multiple drone sightings

Brussels Airport was closed and all flights grounded after reported sightings of a drone, Belgian air traffic control has said.

The smaller Liege Airport was also closed after drones had been seen.

Defence Minister Theo Francken told public broadcaster RTBF that the incident appeared to be carried out by professionals intent on destabilising the country.

Bernard Quintin, the minister of the interior, asked prime minister Bart De Wever to convene the National Security Council in response to the sighting.

“We will not allow our airports to be disrupted by uncontrolled drone flights. This calls for a coordinated, national response,” he said.

An update on the Brussels Airport website early on Wednesday said flights had been resumed, but warned that disruption for travellers was expected to continue and passengers should be prepared for delays.

Earlier on Tuesday, an airport spokesperson said there were “no flights currently landing or taking off” and that there were no estimates for how long the airport would remain closed.

Belgium’s busiest airport briefly reopened on Tuesday evening after two hours of disruption, but was then closed again after more drone sightings.

Kurt Verwilligen, a spokesperson for the Belgian air traffic control service, said that shortly before 7pm GMT a drone had been seen near Brussels Airport, and the airport had therefore been closed as a security precaution.

Flight data on the Brussels Airport website shows a number of delayed and cancelled flights, with FlightRadar24 reporting some have been diverted.

Located 12 kilometres northeast of Brussels, the airport is a major hub for international travel, serving locations including the UK, Dubai, and Turkey.

A message on the airport’s website read: “There are currently no departing or arriving flights at Brussels Airport due to drone sightings around the airport. We will provide updates as soon as we have more information.”

The last flight that departed on Tuesday was the 7.30pm to Prague, with the last arrival into the airport at 7.50pm from the Spanish island of Tenerife.

The incident followed similar closures of the Polish airport Lublin in September this year after multiple Russian drones reportedly crossed into Polish territory, leading to Nato fighter jets being scrambled to intercept them.

Following the incident, the Polish military’s operational command posted on X that ground-based air defence systems were on high alert, stressing that “these actions are preventive in nature” to secure Poland’s airspace and protect its citizens.

In September, Copenhagen Airport and Oslo Airport had to be closed briefly as a result of drone sightings, while drones were also seen over a Belgian military air base last weekend.

The nature of any drone incursion and how many drones may have been involved is not yet clear.