Brussels airport will not re-open before Tuesday

Brussels airport will not reopen before Tuesday as it implements new security measures and repairs the departure hall wrecked by a suicide bomb attack earlier this week, airport authorities said on Saturday. 

"Passenger flights at Brussels Airport will not resume before Tuesday 29 March," Zaventem airport said in a statement.

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"Brussels Airport is starting preparations to partially resume passenger flights and to implement the new security measures at Belgian airports, decided by the federal government," it added.

It gave no details of what the new security measures involve but immediately after Tuesday's attacks, there was a lot of criticism that security at the airport was light, with no systematic checks on passengers entering the departure hall.

On Tuesday, two suicide bombers blew themselves up there while another attacked the Brussels metro, leaving 31 dead and more than 300 wounded in Belgium's worst ever terror attack.

The Easter weekend is normally one of the busiest of the year, with thousands of holidaymakers jetting off from Brussels to destinations worldwide.

Following the attacks, airlines moved operations to regional airports or even to neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands and Germany.

Low-cost pioneer Ryanair moved its Brussels flights to its main base at Charleroi, about an hour's drive south of the Belgian capital.