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Belgian national security council meeting on drones confirmed for Thursday
The Belgian national security council meeting on drone disruptions has now been confirmed for Thursday morning, Nieuwsblad and De Standaard reported.
Morning opening: Drones, again
Jakub Krupa
Brussels airport had to close on Tuesday night after reported drone sightings, disrupting dozens of flights and journeys of thousands of passengers.
It is the latest example of drones affecting civil airports in Europe, amid growing unease about the disruption they cause and potential motives behind their use.
Flights have resumed on Wednesday morning, but some disruption continued, with planes reported out of position as a result of airport closures, Niuewsblad reported. Some 400-500 passengers had to spend the night at the airport because of the sightings.
Separately, drones were also reported in the vicinity of the Kleine-Brogel and Florennes military airbases and a regional airport in Liège.
Belgium’s interior minister, Bernard Quintin, said the country “cannot accept our airports being disrupted by unauthorised drone flights,” calling for “a coordinated and national response.”
The Belgian national security council could meet today or tomorrow to discuss the incident.
But he did not want to jump to conclusions on who could be behind the sightings, saying “it could be Russia or a hobbyist” flying their drones, and leaving it open for the investigation, VRT reported.
Let’s see what updates we get on this incident during the day. The European Commission will no doubt get asked about it at its daily briefing, as will Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte, who is in Romania today.
It’s Wednesday, 5 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
