Belgium calls emergency security meeting after nationwide drone disruptions

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has approved a proposal by Interior and Security Minister Bernard Quintin to convene an emergency meeting of the National Security Council in response to a series of drone-related incidents that disrupted air traffic across the country.

According to Le Soir, Minister Quintin announced that the National Security Council meeting will be held on November 5 or 6.

He said the National Crisis Centre is closely monitoring the situation at Brussels Airport and Liège Airport, where drones were spotted earlier this week.

Quinten stressed that the safety of passengers and airport personnel remains an absolute priority and assured that police and other competent authorities are maintaining heightened vigilance.

“I believe this issue should be taken seriously—calmly and seriously,” Quintin said. “After the work carried out by the various services, which continues this morning with a coordination meeting, it is necessary to take stock of the situation at the political level, as its scale is quite new. This issue does not concern Belgium alone.”

The decision follows a major disruption on November 3, when Belgian airspace near the Brussels and Liège airports was closed due to drone activity. Authorities later confirmed the complete suspension of operations at Brussels Airport, leading to the redirection of flights to other airports within Belgium, including Liège.

However, shortly afterwards, drones were also detected near Liège Airport, prompting its closure and a full suspension of all air traffic over Belgium. Flights were subsequently diverted to Cologne (Germany) and Maastricht (the Netherlands).

By the morning of November 4, flight operations at Brussels Airport resumed. Overnight, a total of 41 flights were cancelled—including 22 departures and 19 arrivals—while 24 flights were redirected to other airports.

By Tamilla Hasanova