Brussels Zaventem airport could re-open to some passenger flights tomorrow, Wednesday 30 March, following last week's deadly terror attacks but it could take months before the Belgian gateway is fully-operational again, the CEO of the Brussels Airport Authority, Arnaud Feist, has warned.
Cargo flights resumed last Thursday evening (24 March) and over the past few days most carriers have resumed their normal schedules.
However, tests continue to be carried out at Zaventem's severely-damaged passenger terminal to assess whether the airport can resume passenger flights.
Thirty-five people were killed and 96 more are still in hospital after bombs targeted the airport and a metro train.
Quoted in a BBC report, Feist said he hoped the airport would open at 20% capacity on Wednesday but "it'll take months before we are running at full capacity," he said.
Belgian postal operator bpost's activities in Brussels had returned to normal on 24 March with all of its distribution and sorting centres and post offices open, a spokesperson confirmed.
The company's facilities in Zaventem's Brucargo zone were operational again too. International mail traffic was being trucked to other airports, notably Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Prague or London. But such alternative routes were not possible in all cases, the spokesperson added.
Bpost is also transporting shipments on all-cargo flights out of Zaventem.
DHL Express, which operates a major European regional air hub at the airport, said in its latest service update that flights, pick-up and delivery are back to normal.
“The back-log in Belgium has been resolved. Trucking to and from the airport is slightly impacted, without causing major delays.”
Meanwhile, TNT Express has declined to comment on whether the company's air hub in Liège hub had seen an increase in shipments since the Brussels attacks.
A spokesman told CEP-Research: “None of our flights have been affected and sorting operations at the (Liege) hub have not faced any disruptions but we are operating under tighter security and are monitoring developments closely in liaison with the authorities. I'd rather not elaborate on the volumes handled at the hub."
TNT's road transit hub and depot in Brucargo had resumed operations on the day following the attacks, he added.
"We've also resumed collections and deliveries in the city centre since that date."
The spokesperson also underlined that border controls had been stepped up, resulting in delays for some shipments entering or exiting Belgium.
“We've reinforced our own security measures at TNT hubs and depots across Belgium but also in several other countries, including France and the UK."
