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Brussels Airport Reopens After Drone Incursions as Belgium Opens Security Investigation

Intelligence briefings to local media point to a likely state actor, with responsibility still unconfirmed.

Overview

  • Air-traffic control halted operations at Zaventem overnight after multiple drones were detected, with flights resuming to delays and some cancellations.
  • Arrivals were diverted to Liège, Charleroi, Bruges, and airports in Paris and Frankfurt, and local reports said dozens of flights were canceled with several hundred passengers stranded overnight.
  • Prime Minister Bart De Wever called an extraordinary National Security Council meeting for Thursday to address the incidents and broader security concerns.
  • Federal prosecutors and military intelligence are investigating sightings, including near the Kleine-Brogel base that hosts U.S. nuclear weapons for NATO, though no operators have been identified.
  • Defense Minister Theo Francken described the earlier flights near Kleine-Brogel as resembling an espionage effort, and the Belgian cases follow similar unexplained drone activity reported at European sites such as Berlin Brandenburg.