Brussels airport’s operator is having to reduce the rate of departing peak-hour flights from the hub because passenger demand is increasing at a faster-than-predicted rate.
The country’s slot co-ordinator has drawn up a revised schedule for the airport, which is working to restore full capacity in the wake of the bomb attack which badly damaged the departure terminal on 22 March.
This new schedule will be introduced on 2 May. But it limits the number of departing flights to 22 per hour, fewer than the figure for peak times after the airport began resuming services.
Although the temporary facilities in place at the airport can handle up to 18,000 departing passengers daily, the operator says they must be spread evenly over the day.
The number of passengers per flight is rising “faster than expected”, it states.
“With the new spread of the number of flights, the aim has been to maintain as many flights as possible,” it says, adding that this must be balanced against the constraints of the temporary facilities.
“Some flights will therefore be scheduled sooner or later than before, to ensure the smooth throughput of departing passengers in the temporary structures.”
Technical preparations are under way to restore functions in the departure hall, the company says, and the work will be completed “shortly”.
But the work needs to have regulatory approval and it is unable to confirm a date on which the building will be operational, although the company is planning for a partial re-opening at the beginning of May.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
