Brussels Airport to partially reopen after bombings - by Katie Forster

Passenger flights could take off again from Brussels Airport on Friday for the first time since two deadly bomb attacks hit the check-in area on 22 March.

Despite widespread damage caused by the blasts, Zaventem is now ready to run a service at 20% of normal capacity, said the company who runs the airport in a statement.

The fire service and aviation authorities have given the airport the all-clear to partially reopen less than two weeks after attacks on the Belgian capital, which killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds at the airport and Maelbeek Metro station.

All that remains is for formal political approval to be given and passenger flights could restart as soon as Friday evening. A temporary check-in zone will allow 800 departing passengers an hour to pass through the airport as permanent structures are rebuilt.

But it would take ‘months’ before the airport is able to fully reopen, the airport CEO Arnaud Feist has said.
Passengers arriving in Belgium will be able to use existing arrivals and baggage reclaim facilities, which were not damaged in the attacks.

Note EU-Digest: Security scanners must be installed at the entrances to all European airports 

 Read more: Belgium: Brussels Airport to partially reopen after bombings | Europe | News | The Independent

EU air traffic falls for first time in 3 years

Air freight traffic, a closely watched indicator of economic health, fell 2.2 percent in October - the 17th consecutive monthly decline - ACI said in its latest airport traffic report on Wednesday.
"There is no escaping the deepening impact of the European sovereign debt crisis on the real economy," ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said in a statement.

Air freight traffic was down 2.9 percent overall in the year to October compared with the same period last year.

The figures, which include domestic flights by low-cost airlines such as easyJet (EZJ.L) and Ryanair (RYA.I), showed a 0.15 percent decline in EU passenger traffic due to disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy, which mostly affected large European airports with the highest concentration of transatlantic routes.

Read more: EU air traffic falls for first time in 3 years | Reuters

EU bans Syrian airlines from its airports

The European Union (EU) has banned Syrian airlines from landing at any of its 27 EU member airports.

The EU adopted the new sanctions to further increase pressure on Syrianpresident Bashar Assad’s regime over his government’s violence.

The sanctions do not ban Syrian Arab Airlines (RB) from flying over EU airspace and excludes emergency landings. RB is the only Syrian carrier operating flights to Europe.

Turkey has banned all Syrian aircraft from its airspace. Earlier this month, an RB Airbus A320 was forced to land at Ankara after it was intercepted by Turkish Air Force fighter jets.

Read more: EU bans Syrian airlines from its airports | ATWOnline