Planes bound for Zaventem and Charleroi also targeted in a second wave of hoax bomb alerts across Europe
Some twenty flights received threats on Thursday; minister Crucke has asked OCAM for an assessment.
A LOT flight from Warsaw to Brussels Airport received a suspicious report shortly before landing on Thursday morning, VRT NWS reports. In line with standard procedure, the federal police immediately carried out a risk assessment, after which the airport decided no additional measures were needed. The aircraft landed safely. According to La Libre, a Ryanair flight from Pescara in Italy to Charleroi was also hit by a hoax bomb alert in the early afternoon.
It is the second wave in a short time: on Tuesday at least seven flights received threats, and no explosives were found. On Thursday an Aer Lingus Airbus with 157 people on board, flying from Dublin to Rome, was diverted to the Évreux air base under escort by French fighter jets, according to VRT NWS. Flights to Rome, Sofia, Prague and Vienna were also affected. La Libre puts the number of targeted flights at around twenty at least.
Federal Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) has asked OCAM to assess the threat, La Libre writes. He considers it too early to draw conclusions and wants to see the results of the police investigation first. It is not yet known who is behind the alerts; Belgian police are investigating whether the report at Zaventem is linked to the earlier incidents.