Reopening Brussels Airport after the 22/03/2016 terror attacks

[sn26567]

I don't think this is a personal attack. Rather a request for your opinion about the long waiting times in Amsterdam today.

And incidentally, these strict controls by police and military in Amsterdam will continue all day tomorrow Sunday.

[lumumba]

I don't think this is a personal attack. Rather a request for your opinion about the long waiting times in Amsterdam today.

And incidentally, these strict controls by police and military in Amsterdam will continue all day tomorrow Sunday.

I have no problem with the checks in Brussels,even if I think they are not the solution,if they are not permanent...like in Amsterdam it's just today and tomorrow etc..

But if it's to implement security checks like in Tell Aviv permanently than it's a bad idea considering the competition from other airports around.

[Airbus330lover]

Surely not a personal attack. Just asking your opinion.

[sn26567]

Queues are growing to AMS. Today prefer BRU!

[Freken]

Queues are growing to AMS. Today prefer BRU!

Some 4000 pieces of luggage were lost at AMS due to staffing problems with KLM ground staff, presumably from the FNV strike. I'd rather go to BRU indeed!

[sn26567]

...like in Amsterdam it's just today and tomorrow etc...

Do you think so? Think again:

Due to engineering work on railway tracks and additional security measures at/around Schiphol the next days, we advise you to come in time.
(signed) Schiphol Airport

[teach]

Back on topic: Check-in row 12 in the old terminal building is open and operational again! Old terminal can only be accessed from the new terminal, not from street level. Entire building is windowless at this point, except for the windows in the roof structure. Large parts still boarded up.

[lumumba]

...like in Amsterdam it's just today and tomorrow etc...

Do you think so? Think again:

Due to engineering work on railway tracks and additional security measures at/around Schiphol the next days, we advise you to come in time.
(signed) Schiphol Airport

Still it's it's not permanent...

[thalenoi]

Well I changed my 1 sept flight from BKK-AMS to BRU, landing BRU 2 sept around 07 am, mainly for convenience, will have someone pick me up probably inside P1. (was easier before the bombing, waited before Sheraton at K&R area)
Flying out BRU 08 sept to LHR and YUL, landing back BRU 19 sept 14.40
Leaving 08 sept I will not have a repeat of my pre-check experience from late April, I will not lift my bags up to the 1m high metal detector (that was only the first part of the BRU pre-check disgrace)
Yes, I can bring up to 24 0.33cl bottles of beer to YUL, won't be Leffe since you can find Leffe in every Montreal supermarket...
My local airport UTH has the only metal detector in the departures hall before you enter the check-in counters and they are 30cm high, easy with roller bags or a cart, why couldn't BRU find the same type of material?
Never seen anywhere luggage bands where you have to drop or pick-up your bags at 1m high...
I still have an AMS-BKK-AMS for oct-nov I won't change, at 1150 euro flying J with QR, no such deal to be found elsewhere (to from BRU)

[Passenger]

Maybe Brussels Airport and/or the Belgian Police can sell some of their old pre-check equipment to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and/or the Dutch Police? The additional safety check that started last Saturday, continue today:

Schiphol.nl: Additional security measures are taken at and around Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The airport and its surrounding area remain accessible, but we advise passengers to take into account that there can be a longer travelling time to the airport. Depart from home approximately half an hour earlier than you would normally do.

[RoMax]

My local airport UTH has the only metal detector in the departures hall before you enter the check-in counters and they are 30cm high, easy with roller bags or a cart, why couldn't BRU find the same type of material?

The ones in the train station for example are exactly the same type of large low-loading screening machines. I assume the same type is installed in the new pre-check at bus station. Not sure if the others are still the old machines or not.

Try to find such machines (which are not common at all, especially not spare ones that are working properly) on short notice. That was simply not an option for April/May.

[lumumba]

...like in Amsterdam it's just today and tomorrow etc...

Do you think so? Think again:

Due to engineering work on railway tracks and additional security measures at/around Schiphol the next days, we advise you to come in time.
(signed) Schiphol Airport

In the article in lecho Feist agreed that the pre checks are not sustainable...

[teach]

I assume the same type is installed in the new pre-check at bus station. Not sure if the others are still the old machines or not.

Nope, bus station has high-loading machine. Others at the departure level are also still high-loading machines.

[RoMax]

I assume the same type is installed in the new pre-check at bus station. Not sure if the others are still the old machines or not.

Nope, bus station has high-loading machine. Others at the departure level are also still high-loading machines.

Hmm strange...these are not even suitable for very big pieces of luggage. Only sensible reason I could think of is that they couldn't be delivered on short notice (for such machines, even months remains short notice) and there were no available on the market for rent. Otherwise I wouldn't understand the decision either...

[Conti764]

I assume the same type is installed in the new pre-check at bus station. Not sure if the others are still the old machines or not.

Nope, bus station has high-loading machine. Others at the departure level are also still high-loading machines.

On arrivals it doesn't really matter since only purses and small bags are allowed.

[Conti764]

I assume the same type is installed in the new pre-check at bus station. Not sure if the others are still the old machines or not.

Nope, bus station has high-loading machine. Others at the departure level are also still high-loading machines.

Hmm strange...these are not even suitable for very big pieces of luggage. Only sensible reason I could think of is that they couldn't be delivered on short notice (for such machines, even months remains short notice) and there were no available on the market for rent. Otherwise I wouldn't understand the decision either...

Why would it be so hard to find that kind of equipment? It's not like it's Star Wars technology.

My best guess... tBAC is anticipating on a short term ending of the pre-checks and didn't want to invest in material they previously didn't have. And since the opening of the Connector and it's screening platform, I can imagine tBAC still has many of it's previous equipment (metal detectors and screeining devices) stored.

The only low-loading machines are in the railway station and that check is not manned by private security companies like the rest but by Securail, the security division of the NMBS/SNCB. While all the other checkpoints are manned by private security and (probably) equiped by tBAC...

[RoMax]

Why would it be so hard to find that kind of equipment? It's not like it's Star Wars technology.

My best gues... tBAC is anticipating on a short term ending of the pre-checks and didn't want to invest in material they previously didn't have. And since the opening of the Connector and it's screening platform, I can imagine tBAC still has many of it's previous equipment (metal detectors and screeining devices) stored.

The only low-loading machines are in the railway station and that check is not manned by private security companies like the rest but by Securail, the security division of the NMBS/SNCB. While all the other checkpoints are manned by private security and (probably) equiped by tBAC...

Not sure if this indeed materialised considering that the 100% pre-check situation was removed, but they were definitely supposed to rent spare units from other airports. BRU does have some machines left (the Pier B screening was removed only days before the attacks), but not a huge amount of them. At one point something like 12 or 13 machines were installed both at the temporary check-in and at the curb (while also one was already placed in the arrivals hall, though for months not used). Not sure where they all came from, but I doubt they were all of BRU itself. Finding such spare low loaders in Europe is much more difficult than regular machines of which there are thousands all over Europe, and even if you buy them new (which indeed is unlikely that BRU would do that) it takes several months to get such things delivered.

But still considering that they have built a sort of 'permanent' construction at bus level, I am surprised they also installed a high loader. At arrivals level this is indeed normal, people using it as an entry don't have large luggage (and those that have, can even be asked to use pre-check on departures level). But at bus level you have departing passengers entering, so that surprises me a bit.

[flightlover]

But still considering that they have built a sort of 'permanent' construction at bus level, I am surprised they also installed a high loader. At arrivals level this is indeed normal, people using it as an entry don't have large luggage (and those that have, can even be asked to use pre-check on departures level). But at bus level you have departing passengers entering, so that surprises me a bit.

Out off experience, BRU isn't really the airport to do things wright at once. Sometimes 'permanent' structures are quite short lived. But as mentioned, it will take quite some time for the wright machine to be available. The fact that a low loading one is installed at the train station might be because the NMBS had a spare one located at one of its daughter companies. This type of scanner is used for cargo screening also.

[Stij]

The fact that a low loading one is installed at the train station might be because the NMBS had a spare one located at one of its daughter companies. This type of scanner is used for cargo screening also.

They use them at the Eurostar terminal...

Cheers,

Stij

[teach]

The check at the bus level is a bit of a joke really. They've got ONE machine, and everybody has to be checked: no sample checks like they do at the departure level, everybody is checked, every piece of luggage is checked.

The result is that when a coach drops off a group of 50 people, all with heavy luggage as is often the case with coach groups, you'll quickly find yourself in a half-hour waiting line to get into the building. Of course, if you're smart and know your way around the airport, you can bypass all this and take the elevator in the parking garage up to departure level and walk through into the terminal 90% of the time, but most people don't know that and so they're stuck in that line.

Doesn't seem BRU or whoever is responsible for these checks are really learning much from their previous mistakes...