Officers said they have warned about terrorist sympathisers at airport
They say badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed
Airport police are threatening to go on strike over 'security deficiencies'
Report after the cut ...
Police
at Brussels airport have claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters
are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff.
In
an astonishing open letter, the officers said they have warned about
the terrorist sympathisers whose security badges give them access to
planes, but they remain employed.
The
airport police, who are threatening to go on strike because of security
deficiencies, also said they have raised the issue of terrorists
scouting the airport to plan possible attacks.
The
extraordinary claims come after it wasl reported how the family of two
of the bombers involved in the attacks last week said they had worked
as cleaners at the airport.
‘Some
people suspected of having fought in Syria came to the airport as
“false tourists”. We reported their presence but we do not know if
anything was done with that information,’ the airport police wrote in
their letter.
The
officers said they had raised suspicions about certain staff members
including those who apparently celebrated after the Paris attacks in
November that killed 130 people.
‘When
we checked these people, we were surprised more than once. It was men
with a radical ideology and a long police history,’ the officers
continued.
‘Even
today, there are at least 50 supporters of the Islamic state who work
at the airport. They have a security badge and have access to the
cockpit of a plane.
In an astonishing open letter, the
officers said they have warned about the terrorist sympathisers whose
security badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed
‘In
the past, a number of people had their badges revoked because they had
IS sympathies. But clearly not everyone, especially in store personnel,
cleaning services and baggage where we find the most suspicious people.’
Police raised concerns about inadequate security at the airport just four days before the attack took place.
The
Belgian police union, NSPV, told the interior ministry on Friday 18
March that they would go on strike unless it was improved.
Alain
Peeters, the general secretary, said: ‘The sad events of 22 March
demonstrate that our concerns are justified. We demand more security and
more staff.’
Officers
have said that they will not return to work when the airport re-opens
unless staffing numbers are increased and that no vehicles can approach
within 100 metres of the temporary check-in hall that is being built.
The airport police, who are
threatening to go on strike because of security deficiencies, also said
they have raised the issue of terrorists scouting the airport to plan
possible attacks
The
police have complained that they are not sufficiently resourced and do
not have enough new uniforms to go around let alone the most up-to-date
weapons.
An
uncle of Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui last week told how the brothers
had been employed at the airport and would have gained intimate
knowledge of the terminal destroyed in the carnage.
The
man, who asked not to be named, said: 'They worked cleaning at
the airport and in a restaurant. They didn't finish high school in the
end. They cleaned the airport in the summer months.'
Ibrahim,
29, and bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui detonated suitcase bombs in the
airport. A third man, only known as ‘the man in the hat’ or ‘the man in
white’ was also seen on airport CCTV but ran when his bomb failed to
explode.
Khalid, 27, blew up a nail bomb on a Metro train at Maelbeek station shortly after the airport attack.
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