The Brussels airport that was the site of a deadly terrorist attack last month has reopened.
Zaventem airport partially reopened Sunday, nearly two weeks after suicide bombings killed 16 people and injured scores others at the check-in area. Sixteen others were killed and more injured in a separate attack in a Brussels metro station the same day. At least 270 people were wounded in the attacks.
The passenger flights, operated by Brussels Airlines, left Zaventem Sunday, bound for Athens, Turin in Italy, and Faro in Portugal.
“These flights are the first hopeful sign from an airport that is standing up straight after a cowardly attack,” said Arnaud Feist, the CEO of Brussels Airport Company.
Feist said the number of flights will gradually increase in the coming days. Passengers are being advised to arrive at least three hours before their flights, and will be checked in at a temporary area constructed in the wake of the attacks. Some foreign airlines have said they will not return to the airport for weeks or months, citing security.
Airport officials hope to return to normal operations by the end of June or beginning of July. Repairing the damage caused by the blasts could take months.
The Brussels metro system reopened last weekend, but Maelbeek station, where the attack occurred, remains closed.