Deliveries are gradually getting back to normal in Brussels after Tuesday’s terror attacks, express and postal companies told CEP-Research today while DHL and other airlines are resuming freighter flights.
Passenger flights at Brussels Airport are still suspended today and tomorrow due to ongoing investigations and structural damage in the passenger terminal but some freighter flights restarted yesterday.
DHL Express, which operates a major European regional air hub at the airport, said it is implementing a gradual increase of freighter flights, primarily to support its services to/from Belgium, with pick-up and delivery services in Brussels now functioning as normal. DHL Parcel has also resumed pick-up and delivery services in the city.
A spokesman told CEP-Research: “We are still implementing contingency options to bypass Brussels for international transit shipments, to ensure that disruption for customers is minimised. Please note that delays on shipments to/from Brussels could still be possible in the event of restrictions due to security operations in particular areas.”
After the airport closure on Tuesday morning DHL Express rerouted various Brussels flights to alternative hubs and gateways, including Leipzig and Amsterdam, and also transferred some air shipments to ground express transportation instead.
Meanwhile, TNT Express’ road transit hub and depot at Brucargo, the airport’s cargo area, resumed operations yesterday, and the company has also restarted collections and deliveries in the city centre.
“None of our flights have been affected, and sorting operations in Liege faced no disruptions, but we are operating under tighter security and are monitoring developments closely in liaison with the authorities,” a spokesman said.
“Reinforced border controls are resulting in delays for some of the consignments entering or exiting Belgium. We've reinforced our own security measures at TNT hubs and depots across Belgium, but also in several other countries,” he added.
UPS said that its services in Belgium and Brussels have largely returned to normal, with service disruptions limited to the areas directly affected by the attacks on 22 March.
“Additional security measures have been put in place, but please understand that it would be counter-productive to the effectiveness of our security efforts to discuss them publicly,” a UPS Europe spokesman commented.
Meanwhile, Belgian postal operator bpost said its distribution and sorting centres, and post offices in Brussels are now operating normally again, with the exception of the area around the European Commission headquarters. “Distribution in Brussels is okay,” a spokeswoman said.
To reduce the backlog, Bpost will deliver letters tomorrow (Easter Friday) despite the bank holiday, operate normal Saturday services the following day, and deliver parcels on Sunday as an exception. There will be no mail or parcel delivery services on Easter Monday.
The company’s international postal hub at Brucargo is operating but has been impacted by the suspension of passenger flights, which carry many of its international shipments. Outbound shipments scheduled for passenger flights are being diverted to other airports or distributed by road, the bpost spokeswoman explained.
However, imports from other airports are being handled normally and exports on cargo planes or by truck are also taking place.
Brussels Airport had seen an upturn in its freight business recently. Freight transport grew by 7.8% last year, driven by a 7% rise in integrator volumes and 18% increase in freighter tonnage. Freight volumes carried on passenger aircraft remained flat at 2014 levels.
