Brussels airport losing 5 million euros a day from closure

Zaventem airport has been closed since twin bombings wrecked the departure hall on March 22, in coordinated suicide attacks that were claimed by the Islamic State group and which also hit Maalbeek metro station in central Brussels. 

The airport’s chief executive Arnaud Feist has warned it could take “months” for Zaventem to be fully operational again. Air Brussels said it was experiencing “the most serious crisis” in its history because of the closure, with some five million euros a day in lost earnings. 

The city’s metro system is set to be largely operational in a day or two, said reports. Belgium on Wednesday lowered the death toll to 32, down from an earlier tally of 35, excluding the three suicide bombers, Belgian federal prosecutors said.

“After thorough verification, the number of victims goes down to 32. Still 94 people in hospital,” Health Minister Maggie de Block tweeted. All the victims have now been identified, many of them foreign nationals, testament to the cosmopolitan nature of a city that is home to both the European Union and NATO.

Ine Van Wymeersch, a magistrate, said all the victims from the twin bomb attacks last Tuesday had been identified and consisted of 17 Belgians and 15 foreigners. 

Meanwhile, hundreds of employees returned to the airport on Tuesday for a large-scale test run to determine if services could partially resume from Wednesday — but those hopes were dashed. 

In a related development, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining laptop computers linked to suspects in the deadly bombings as investigators work to unravel the militant network behind the attacks. 

The laptops arrived in the US on Friday and now are being examined by FBI experts, a US government source familiar with the matter said.