Overview
- Air navigation service Skeyes suspended all takeoffs and landings just before 20:00 after a drone was reported over Brussels Airport, with operations resuming around 21:00.
- Flights were halted a second time around 22:00, and several arrivals were diverted, including a Swiss service to Amsterdam and reroutes reported to Maastricht/Aachen.
- Multiple drones were reported near the NATO-used Kleine-Brogel base the same evening, with residents citing six sightings and police confirming two.
- Earlier countermeasures proved ineffective, as a jamming device failed and a police helicopter and vehicles lost a pursued drone after several kilometers.
- Defence Minister Theo Francken acknowledged the new reports, leaving a TV appearance as services responded, and officials say the drones’ origin and intent remain unknown.