Brussels Airport departure hall partially reopened to passengers on Sunday, less than six weeks after ISIL suicide bombers struck there. “Brussels is
ADVERTISEMENTBrussels Airport departure hall partially reopened to passengers on Sunday, less than six weeks after ISIL suicide bombers struck there.
“Brussels is back in business…Welcome to Brussels Airport!” declared Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, making a speech at a ceremony to mark the occasion.
.@BrusselsAirport gateway to Europe! Reconnaissance à la communauté aéroportuaire. Een belangrijk symbolisch moment. pic.twitter.com/jmnMrakCoZ
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) 1 mai 2016
The reopening comes after repair teams worked relentlessly to restore a large part of the departure hall.
Sunday’s development was described by Brussels airport authorities as ‘an important and hopeful moment’,raising capacity at the site to 80 percent of the passengers it was handling before the bloodshed.
Today we're welcoming the first passengers back into the main #brusselsairport departures hall. An important and hopeful moment.
— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) 1 mai 2016
Temporary structures set up after the attacks will continue to be used for now.
The aim is to have the airport fully operational with 100 percent capacity by mid-June.
Two suicide attackers detonated suitcase bombs in the departure hall on March 22. Shortly afterwards, another bomber blew himself up on a metro train in the city. In all, they killed 32 people.