On Sunday, January 3rd, long queues at Brussels Airport to check the Passenger Location Forms (PLF) for passengers arriving from abroad caused a stir, even anger among some passengers.
Starting from January 2nd, anyone who has spent more than 48 hours in a red zone has to be tested on the first day of return, and then be quarantined until a second test is performed seven days later.
Travelers must also complete a PLF. Starting this weekend, the Belgian Federal Police has been conducting stricter checks at borders in major stations and at airports to verify that passengers have filled out their PLFs. This action caused very long queues at Brussels Airport.
Expats returning to #Brussels
— António Buscardini (@ABuscardini) January 4, 2021
Chaos at PLF-checkpoint at @BrusselsAirport #covid19be pic.twitter.com/mTgRhAPXk8
“During the entire weekend, these PLF-checks went very smooth,” said Ihsane Chioua Lekhli, spokeswoman for Brussels Airport to Belgian news outlet Het Laatste Nieuws. “On Sunday evening, however, people had to queue quite some time at those checks, which suddenly resulted in a long traffic jam. Through a speaker system, we urged travelers to keep a social distance but to no avail.”
Virologist Marc Van Ranst wrote on Facebook, “Another reason not to travel abroad. Seeing these scenes, and knowing how many red zone returnees blatantly refuse to be tested or quarantined, I suggest closing our borders for a few months (except for essential travel). This will be hard to realize, but this way it’s like pushing water uphill.”
