Autumn holidays are usually a busy time for many airports, and Brussels Airport is no exception. There are often long queues through security, and whilst last weekend Belgian press reported on concerns over lack of social distancing in these queues, there was apparently a similar situation on Saturday morning, although to a lesser extent.
1. Concern from some travellers
On Sunday 1st November Brussels Airport announced it had opened an additional security lane to better manage the influx of departing passengers, as more passengers than expected had travelled through the airport due to an increase in last-minute bookings, likely a result of stricter sanitary measures announced.
However, continued queues this past weekend, and concerns over lack of social distancing, caused discontent among some passengers, who used social media to complain.
@TUIflyBelgium voici nos conditions ce matin à @BrusselsAirport … j’espère q les vols nous attendront!!🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/noebTIfQwE
— Mcdll (@Mcdll1) November 7, 2020
Around noon on Saturday, Brussels airport tweeted to passengers, ‘It’s busy at Brussels Airport during autumn break. We recommend that you arrive 2 hours in advance for a Schengen flight and 3 hours for a non-Schengen flight’.
It’s busy at #brusselsairport during autumn break. ✈️ We recommend that you arrive 2 hours in advance for a Schengen flight and 3 hours for a non-Schengen flight.
— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) November 7, 2020
2. Airport denies the claims
Brussels Airport denied the claims and its spokeswoman Ihsane Chioua Lekhli on Sunday stated, ‘…the situation yesterday cannot be compared at all with last weekend’. Explaining that, ‘…the crowds were by no means extreme’ and that, ‘At peak time yesterday there were waiting times of up to 30 minutes, which is a normal peak traffic. Because of the social distance, the lines are longer, and a photo does not always show that distance’.
Referring to the tweet that the airport put out, she stated, ‘We have noticed that some passengers arrive at the airport quite late, so we tweeted about this again to remind people to get to the airport on time’.
