Two explosions in Brussels, one at the airport in Zaventem
and one at Maelbeek metro station near the European Union headquarters, have
paralyzed the city. The current death toll is at least 30, while the injured
total more than 230. Flights in and out of the airport have been canceled, the
subway system has been shut down and people have been told to stay inside.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came on
the heels of last week's capture of Salah Abdeslam, the suspected organizer
behind the attacks in Paris last November. Belgian Prime Minister Charles
Michel told reporters, "We were fearing terror attacks, and that has now
happened." Authorities continue to search for suspects, and border
controls have been reinforced across Belgium and France. Major airports across
Europe also report enhanced security.
Brussels Airport
Brussels Airport has
been evacuated for investigation of the bombing there that killed several and
severely damaged the departures hall, according to the BBC. Brussels Airport
CEO Arnaud Feist said on Twitter the airport would remain closed Wednesday. Officials
will evaluate then whether it can reopen Thursday.
United Airlines
reported that a flight from Washington Dulles arrived Tuesday morning before
the bombing but a later flight from Newark was rerouted to a remote location.
The carrier is waiving change fees and fare differences for flights to and from
Brussels through March 24 if travel is rescheduled to occur by April 1; the
change fee is still waived for departures later than that, but a fare
difference might apply.
American Airlines
canceled its flight from Brussels to Philadelphia on Tuesday and is allowing
travelers booked for travel to Brussels on Tuesday or Wednesday to request a
refund, select an alternate airport or reschedule travel through April 5.
Delta Air Lines
diverted its New York JFK-Brussels flight to Amsterdam, and a morning arrival
from Atlanta landed at Brussels and parked remotely. Delta is allowing tickets
to, from or through Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam through March 31 to be
changed without a change fee, and the carrier is waiving the fare difference if
the rebooked travel begins no later than March 31.
Ripple Effect in the
United States
As events unfold in Europe, the bombings' effect already has
been felt in the United States. Authorities tightened security at major
airports and subway systems in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.
Though no specific threat to the U.S. or a particular city
has been identified, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters, "We are
in a high state of vigilance and readiness."
Fearing knee-jerk calls to change federal security policy and
legislation in the United States, U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow has
called for "thoughtful leadership" in a statement: "Those who
would do harm to the Western world are a deranged minority and should be
treated as such—our travel security policies should work to identify and
separate them from the pool of legitimate travelers so that law enforcement can
focus their full resources on bad actors." Reacting to recent political
rhetoric, the statement continued, "Words matter and move markets. It's
just not realistic to ban religions, order war crimes and end international
travel."
Effect on Business Travel
ACTE excecutive
director Greeley Koch released a statement expressing sympathy with people in
Brussels and those impacted, adding that he was confident in travel managers'
ability to leverage duty-of-care plans to protect business travelers.
Brussels-based ACTE
board member Yves Galimidi confirmed that travel managers were prepared. "While
everyone is still taking stock of the situation in our country, they have
focused on locating their employees, through industry tools and suppliers along
with social media, and providing for any needs," he said.
Global
Business Travel Association president Christle Johnson also voiced solidarity
with Belgium and the business travel community there. The organization will
post ongoing updates on its blog. In December, it polled 169 corporate travel
buyers about their plans in the wake of the Paris attacks and ongoing threats
in Belgium. At that time, 47
percent reported "no change" in their travel volume in Europe and
another 26 percent reported only "slightly reduced" travel within
Europe for their companies.
As additional terror
threats are realized within Europe and pressure increases on the Schengen
Agreement, the no-borders agreement that facilitates European crossborder
travel and trade, European business travel may yet feel the effects.