MONROVIA, Montserrado – Brussels Airlines has announced cancellation of flights to and from Brussels Airport on Tuesday and Wednesday following explosions that took place at the airport early Tuesday morning.
A flight that was estimated to arrive at the Roberts International Airport at 8:15 p.m. and departing at 9:35 p.m. on Tuesday was affected. Brussels Airlines’ weekly flight schedule to Liberia is Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
On Wednesday morning, however, the Liberia Airports Authority clarified that the Brussels Airlines flight departing at 9:35 p.m. from RIA would be unaffected.
The initial flight cancellations was announced hours after the explosions were reported.
The Liberia Country Office of the airlines has refused to speak further on the situation. Country Manager in Liberia, Frederic Vloeberghs, told The Bush Chicken on Tuesday that his office was not granting any interviews, but said passengers are being informed.
“Passengers are being contacted and taken care of in order to smoothly rearrange their travel plans according to the situation,†he wrote in an email.
The airline’s corporate office announced in a statement on its website on Tuesday that Brussels Airport is closed until further notice due to the explosions.
It said it thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the terrible attacks. “Brussels Airlines’ priority now is to do everything to assist and support its colleagues and passengers,†the statement said.
The airline’s management said it was doing its best to restore normal operations and take customers to their destinations.
Due to the circumstances, Brussels Airlines warned of further delays and cancellations and encouraged passengers to review their travel plans.
“We therefore recommend all passengers who don’t have an urgent need for urgent to travel in the coming two days to review their travel plans if possible,†it further noted.
Passengers holding tickets for Lufthansa group flight or Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, and Germanwings between March 22nd and 28th to, from, or through Brussels have been advised to rebook or refund their tickets at no cost to them, regardless of the ticket’s conditions.
“Passengers who booked their ticket via a travel agency are kindly asked to contact the agency for their rebooking or refund, while passengers who booked via brusselsairlines.com can ask for a refund of their ticket via https://www.brusselsairlines.com/en-be/contact-us/cancel-refund/default.aspx or rebook their ticket for a new date of travel before 30 June 2016 via our Service Center at +32 2 723 23 62 (+1 866 308 2230 from the US),†the statement advised.
The BBC reported that more than 30 people are believed to have been killed and dozens injured in the attacks.
Twin blasts hit the airport at about 7:00 a.m., killing 11 people. Another explosion struck a metro station near the European Union headquarters an hour later, leaving about 20 people dead.
Brussels police have issued a wanted notice for a man seen pushing a luggage trolley through the airport.
He was pictured in CCTV footage with two other suspects who are believed to have died in the blasts.
The Islamic State group said it was behind the attacks in a statement issued on the IS-linked Amaq agency.
Belgium has raised its terrorism alert to its highest level and three days of national mourning have been declared.
Prime Minister Charles Michel called the latest attacks “blind, violent and cowardly,” adding, “This is a day of tragedy, a black day… I would like to call on everyone to show calmness and solidarity.”
Featured photo by Matteo Arrotta
