Belgium’s national airport, Brussels Airport, warned travellers on Friday of possible flight delays. As a precaution, the airline Brussels Airlines has cancelled five flights in order to guarantee the smooth running of operations.
This Friday, the Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI/IRM) of Belgium extended its orange alert for thunderstorms in Brussels.
“The peak of the storm is expected between 13:30 and 15:00. We have already taken preventive measures, but if the lightning and the wind become too strong, it will have an impact on air traffic,” said airport spokeswoman Nathalie Pierard.
The airport recommended passengers to closely monitor the status of their flight on their website.
In consultation with its French and German neighbours, Brussels Airlines had already cancelled five flights (see list hereunder) as a precaution, following bad weather. “Our neighbouring colleagues have asked us to withdraw certain scheduled flights”, said the spokesperson for the airline, Kim Daenen. “We are doing everything possible to find a solution for the travellers concerned and get them to their destination as quickly as possible”.
Brussels Airport and Brussels Airlines state that flights are in principle safe during thunderstorms, but that any delays or cancellations are mainly due to the fact that work on the tarmac cannot be carried out optimally due to bad weather.
The Brussels Airlines cancelled flights are:
- SN3181 to Rome
- SN2719 to Geneva
- SN2283 to Oslo
- SN2905 to Vienna
- SN2259 to Copenhagen
