Brussels airport says to stay closed to passengers until at least Sunday

Brussels airport will remain closed to passenger flights until at least Sunday, the airport operator said, extending the shutdown by another day following this week’s deadly suicide bombings claimed by ISIS.

“Passenger flights into and out of Brussels airport are suspended until Sunday 27 March included,” the airport said on Twitter.

“There is much damage and we do not have access to the building as the investigation is still underway.”

“Until we can assess the damage, it remains unclear when we can resume operations.”

Passengers forced to leave luggage behind when fleeing the airport can now collect it from the cargo section of the airport, it added.

Two ISIS suicide bombers – one named by prosecutors as Ibrahim El Bakraoui and the other by police sources as Paris attacks bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui – blew themselves up at the airport on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people.

A huge manhunt is already under way for a third attacker at Brussels airport, a man wearing a hat seen on security footage with the other two as they pushed bomb-filled bags on trolleys through the terminal, but whose bomb did not go off.