Airport disruption
Brussels Airport shut twice after drone sightings; Liège airport also suspends flights
Brussels Airport, Zaventem (and Liège Airport), Belgium04 Nov 2025 · event dateapproximate location You are viewing revision 1 as published on 12 Oct 2026. The dossier text, evidence states, claims and sources of this revision are fixed; catalogue context such as cost estimates is not shown here. View the current version
On the evening of 4 November 2025 Belgium's air traffic control agency Skeyes halted traffic at Brussels Airport after a drone was seen near the airport. Public broadcaster RTBF reported that Brussels and the nearby Liège airport reopened after an hour and closed again after a second sighting, with normal operations resuming around 23:00. It was the first time Brussels Airport had been shut because of drones.
Claims and evidence
3 sources · 5 original statements
Sources that repeat the same original statement count once: a number of articles is not a number of independent confirmations.
| Claim | Original source | Assessment |
|---|
| Operations Skeyes, Belgium's air traffic control agency, said all air traffic was halted for safety reasons. Source passage [1]“For safety reasons, all air traffic has been halted for the time being” Passage checked word for word against the source on 12 Oct 2026. | Skeyes spokesperson via Kyiv Independent | supports Statement by the air traffic control agency; it does not describe the drone or its number. |
| Drone RTBF reported that a drone was first spotted near Brussels Airport at 8pm, followed by an incident at Liège. Source passage [2]“A drone was first spotted near Brussels airport at 8pm (19:00 GMT) on Tuesday evening, followed by another incident at the nearby Liege airport” Passage checked word for word against the source on 12 Oct 2026. | RTBF, via Al Jazeera via Al Jazeera | supports A sighting reported by the public broadcaster; no independent technical confirmation is cited. |
| Impact Brussels Airport said 54 flights were cancelled because of the Tuesday evening shutdown. Source passage [3]“Brussels Airport said that 54 flights were canceled as a result of the Tuesday evening shutdown” Passage checked word for word against the source on 12 Oct 2026. | Brussels Airport via Associated Press via WSLS | supports The same AP report quotes 41 cancelled and 24 diverted flights; Al Jazeera cites FlightAware counts of 59 cancelled and 43 delayed. The figures are not reconciled. |
| Attribution The AP reported that the operators of the drones in recent days had not been identified. Source passage [3]“The operators of the drones in recent days have not been identified” Passage checked word for word against the source on 12 Oct 2026. | Associated Press | context only The same sentence adds that the defence minister said this was not the work of amateurs, without elaborating. |
| Attribution Anonymous State Security Services sources told Belga that the agency suspects foreign state actors, likely Russia. Source passage [1]“Sources from Belgium's State Security Services told Belgian media outlet Belga News on Nov. 5 that the agency suspects that foreign state actors, likely Russia, to be behind the incidents.” Passage checked word for word against the source on 12 Oct 2026. | Unnamed State Security Services sources, via Belga via Kyiv Independent | supports Anonymous sourcing and a suspicion, not an official attribution. |
Original statements
- Skeyes spokesperson · repeated by sources [1]
- RTBF, via Al Jazeera · repeated by sources [2]
- Brussels Airport · repeated by sources [3]
- Associated Press · repeated by sources [3]
- Unnamed State Security Services sources, via Belga · repeated by sources [1]
What we know
Brussels Airport said 54 flights were cancelled because of the shutdown, and that about 400 to 500 travellers spent the night there after 41 flights were cancelled and 24 diverted. FlightAware counted 59 cancelled and 43 delayed flights at Brussels on Tuesday. The prime minister convened the National Security Council.
Skeyes said all air traffic was halted for safety reasons after a drone sighting, and RTBF reported two sightings. Authorities released little information about the sightings. The airport's own cancellation and diversion figures differ between statements and from FlightAware's count.
What remains unknown
The number and type of drones, where they came from and who operated them are not established, and no imagery or technical detection data has been published in the cited sources. Reports differ on the number of cancelled flights.
Operator attribution: Suspected. No one claimed responsibility and no official attribution has been published. The defence minister said it was not the work of amateurs without elaborating. According to the Kyiv Independent, sources from Belgium's State Security Services told Belga that the agency suspects foreign state actors, likely Russia; this rests on anonymous sourcing. [1][3]
How the story changed
A drone was first spotted near Brussels Airport at about 20:00 and flights were suspended; Liège Airport also closed after a sighting. [2]
Both airports reopened at about 21:00 and shut again at about 22:00 after a second sighting; normal operations resumed at about 23:00, according to RTBF. [2]
Brussels Airport said 54 flights were cancelled; the prime minister called a meeting of the National Security Council for Thursday. [3]
Sources from the State Security Services told Belga News that the agency suspects foreign state actors, likely Russia, according to the Kyiv Independent. [1]
Editorial changes
- Revision 1 · 12 Oct 2026Curated dossier created after checking the cited sources line by line.
Cite this dossier
DroneLedger. “Brussels Airport shut twice after drone sightings; Liège airport also suspends flights.” Dossier brussels-airport-closures-2025-11-04, revision 1, updated 12 Oct 2026. https://droneincidents.com/incident/brussels-airport-closures-2025-11-04/
Cite the revision you used: later revisions may change evidence states.
Curated dossier · sources checked line by line on 12 Oct 2026
Dossier updated 12 Oct 2026 Editorial pack (print / PDF)Follow this dossier (feed)Earlier versions