Belgian police tip shuts down arrivals at Dutch airport

Belgian police tip shuts down arrivals at Dutch airport
Eindhoven Airport, in the Netherlands, where arrivals were interrupted after a tip form Belgian police on Sunday. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Arrivals in Eindhoven Airport were interrupted after Belgian police on Sunday tipped off local authorities that a Belgian national due to arrive at the airport may be the target of a "serious" attack.

Members of the royal armed forces of the Netherlands closed down the arrivals hall of the airport and ordered airlines to keep passengers from disembarking to conduct an investigation.

"We received information from Belgium this afternoon and we investigated it," a spokeswoman for the Dutch armed forces told local media, adding that they had passed on information to Belgians.

Authorities have made little information public but messages posted on Twitter suggest that the events took place at around 17:00 on Sunday, as some passengers said they "couldn't get out" of their planes.

The Belgian police warned local authorities that a "Belgian man" there could be "the target of serious criminals," according to reports.

Witness accounts say that after the airport was shut down, "someone" was escorted by the Dutch royal armed forces and that a police helicopter escorted the person to the Belgian border, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.

The federal authorities further confirmed to the outlet that the person had been handed to Belgium, but the outlet said that officials at Eindhoven Airport chose not to disclose any further information.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times


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