Terror attacks: explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

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Passenger
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Passenger »

koja78 wrote:I wonder if there was any kind of scenario in the disaster plans for if the main terminal is not usable for weeks?
One cannot make a disaster plan in advance for such a terrible scenario. What are your actual plans for in case your house burns down completely and you loose your job on the same day, and it then also turns out that you forgot to pay your insurance fee?
koja78 wrote:Problem is... Brussels Airlines & its transfer pax... no other airport in BE is suited for this. Probably reroute through other star alliance hubs with ferry flights to BE for local PAX. OST might be used for this as you can easily connect to the main train backbone. If this takes a long time.. it can kill BruAir.
koja78 wrote:BruAir is the one really in trouble
It won't take long. It will not kill Brussels Airlines. Brussels Airlines is not "in trouble". Yes, they received a very very heavy thwack yesterday, but they won't give up. I expect them to reduce capacity and put expansion plans on hold for destinations for which they need a lot of non-Belgian passengers (like India and new USA destinations).

flymd11
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by flymd11 »

SN are definitely in trouble but I would expect them to have some concept of a contingency plan in case of a temporary closure of BRU (every company I've worked for for has had a risk register and contingencies). Maybe they are waiting for today's announcement before activating it?

Are most people cancelling their trip or does the rest of the LH Group network really have the capacity to absorb SN's passengers during this busy travel week?

koja78
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by koja78 »

All depends how long BRU will be inactive.

Bralo20
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Bralo20 »

koja78 wrote:
Flanker2 wrote: Broken glass can be repaired within hours, same for cleaning up and laying a temporary carpet.
IMO most of the damage is superficial, so it will probably be taken care of in a matter of a couple of days and then repaired professionally later on.
IF the structural integrity of the terminal building is ok.. otherwise....
That is indeed the big question...

Only after a extensive examination it can be determined if the terminal is structual sound something that is not sure at this point. Brussels departure had his advantages but also soms disadvantages. The biggest advantage is that it's a big wide open structure which allows the shockwave from a blast to spread and cause less damage contrary to a blast in an enclosed space, however the big downside is that the ceiling is low in the terminal which didn't allow the shockwave to disperse upwards, the complete shockwave thus had to disperse left/right/front/back while being blocked by a low ceiling and the floor. This happened not once but 3 times (DOVO opted to have the undetonated explosives detonated inside the terminal rather then take additional risks and move them to an open area). Such blasts can seriously damage the structure of a building with every blast worsening the structural soundness of the building. I'm not sure how the terminal was constructed back in the nineties, if they used a metal skeleton then the chances for severe structural damages seem limited, if they used a metal reinforced concrete skeleton the damage could be more severe. The biggest luck they had is that no severe fire broke out after the blasts since this would have further impacted the structure due the heat.


So the best possible scenario is that the structure is sound and passes the inspection. In that case it's indeed mostly superficial damage (though I think the schrapnel could also caused severe damage to electrical systems) and then it will be indeed days before the airport can be operational to some degree and gradually pick up pace later.

The worst case scenario is that the structure is compromised and then it will probably take weeks before the terminal can be opened for some activities (well actually that's not even the worst case scenario, the worst case scenario would be that the structure is compromised in such degree that normal repairs aren't possible and a demolition is warranted but I doubt this is the case, let's not think about that).


Honestly? I doubt BRU will be operational in the next couple of days, it might take indeed until after the weekend to get BRU operational to some degree.

flymd11
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by flymd11 »

Passenger wrote:
koja78 wrote:I wonder if there was any kind of scenario in the disaster plans for if the main terminal is not usable for weeks?
One cannot make a disaster plan in advance for such a terrible scenario.
It's not the first time an airline has lost access to its primary hub airport. During the Eyjafjallajökull erruption, FI very moved its hub from Keflavík to Glasgow.

http://www.keilir.net%2Fstatic%2Ffiles%2Fconferences%2Feyjaaviation%2Flunchday2%2Ficelandair-lunch.pdf
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... to-341225/

Charlie Roy
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Charlie Roy »

ANA has cancelled all BRU flights until April 1st.

flymd11
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by flymd11 »

Transfer traffic and arrivals should be unaffected by the damage.
As a contingency, why not set up a temporary check-in area in part of Frontpark 1 (move the parked cars)? A manual check-in process (printed passengers lists) and baggage transported to the scanning and sorting area manually. It should be enough to get operations running for a few days.

Passenger
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Passenger »

The press reports that the third BRU bomber has been arrested.

Passenger
Posts: 7266
Joined: 06 Dec 2010, 20:54

Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Passenger »

The press reports that the third BRU bomber has been arrested.
http://www.dhnet.be/actu/belgique/exclu ... a2d3d54186


Acid-drop
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Acid-drop »

it seems SN has quite some flights from OST.
I guess it might increase with time
My messages reflect my personal opinion which may be different than yours. I beleive a forum is made to create a debate so I encourage people to express themselves, the way they want, with the ideas they want. I expect the same understanding in return.

koja78
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by koja78 »

Acid-drop wrote:it seems SN has quite some flights from OST.
I guess it might increase with time
Where did you see this?
I only see Paris & Frankfurt... which is probably bringing ppl back home. (as the london flight yesterday)

Acid-drop
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Acid-drop »

i use filters on flightradar24
3 SN just took off from OST, flying east. 4th and 5th one getting ready.
My messages reflect my personal opinion which may be different than yours. I beleive a forum is made to create a debate so I encourage people to express themselves, the way they want, with the ideas they want. I expect the same understanding in return.

flymd11
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by flymd11 »

Are they positioning flights back to BRU?

I only see 2 SN flights on the OST departures list and no arrivals:
http://www.ost.aero/en/passengers/arrivals-departures

They also haven't made any announcement about operations from OST:
https://www.brusselsairlines.com/en-be/

koja78
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by koja78 »

Wasn't it said yesterday that it was the captain of the flights that might decide to go back to the point of origin. (for the diverted flights)

koja78
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by koja78 »

SN1505 - OO-SSI (A319) ? OST-FRA?
SN9920 - OO-DWD (RJ100)
SN9922 - OO-DWG (RJ100)
SN9916 - OO-DWA (RJ100)
SN9918 - OO-DWC (RJ100)

Looks like the Avro's are coming home.

Freken
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Freken »

Cargo flights will be able to land and depart later today as stated by Belgocontrol.

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sn26567
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by sn26567 »

JAL suspended some Tokyo-Paris flights and now cautious ANA is doing likewise with Tokyo-Brussels until 31 March. ANA adds additional flights ex-Dusseldorf on 24-25 March as NH1902.
André
ex Sabena #26567

flymd11
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by flymd11 »

The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to potential risks of travel to and throughout Europe following several terrorist attacks, including the March 22 attacks in Brussels claimed by ISIL.
https://travel.state.gov/content/passpo ... alert.html

Bralo20
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Re: Terrorist attack, explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport!

Post by Bralo20 »

Freken wrote:Cargo flights will be able to land and depart later today as stated by Belgocontrol.
Correct, Brussels Airport will remain closed today and tomorrow for passenger flights.

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