@Skytrax
Honestly, this could happen anywere in the world... It "may" look like Brussels airport isn't a secure airport but actually it is quite secure. I've been at BRU behind the screens a couple of times and the airport is more secure then one would think. I've been at some big and one major airport in the USA and it was amazing how easy it was to get in secure area's of the airport.
For example when I am invited to BRU (one of my suppliers has a facility in the secure area airside) I need to fax my ID card, I need to give a reason for the visit and then they perform a background check on me before I get a pass for the airport. Then when arriving at the airport my ID is checked with my pass and then I go through screening like every traveller does. IMHO quite secure...
Back in 2006 I was invited to visit a certain airport in California, this during my stay at a certain department. Hours later we arrived at the airport, we ran the bell at a backside entrance and where let in. We visited the airport, we spend some time at it, we discussed things, etc... All without any restrictions. I didn't need to give an ID nor I went through any screening.
In 2009 I was in Texas and was again invited to a certain major airport. We arrived at the location and again rang a bell, this time at a on site police office. We introduced ourself and were were given direction to where we needed to be, within minutes we were walking airside at this airport. Again, no ID check, no screening, they even didn't care to guide us to where I needed to be, just got directions and off we went. Again no restriction when we were at the airport.
I honestly admit that they knew I was going to visit but contrary to BRU I didn't need to send my passport, not even my ID card.
2 years ago when I was in the USA for a vacation I passed by an airport (non pax, only cargo, storage, ...) and I thought by myself let us visit it. Same thing happened, we rang the bell and where let through, minutes later we were airside. No advance notice, nothing...
The only thing needed to enter the airport was to introduce ourselfs as (Belgian) firefighters (which we really were but also herefor no prove was necessary) and the doors went wide open... If you try to do the same thing at BRU you won't get very far, actually you won't get anywhere unless you went through the proper procedures...
Regarding driving through the fence? I can name you dozens of airports where this is possible, hell most likely every single airport in the world will have a weak spot here or there. Where they went through the fence it's a desolate area used to park construction vehicles working at the airport but which are parked landside. It's quite a distance from there to where the planes are but BRU has some decent roads in the airport perimeter so I can imagine that they were able to drive quickly to their target.
I'm not sure there is much that can changed to the airport to avoid such cases in the future, maybe they need to build a new fence, maybe they need to use solid steel/iron instead of using the regular fence material (iron wires). But even then it's not guaranteed that they won't break through this also... Maybe motion detection, but I would asume they have that allready?
Where they could improve is the response time of the cops... It's one thing to break through a fence, drive to an airplane an rob it but it's another thing to drive through the same hole (located at a far distance of the plane) and get away with it... 500m from the location where the fence is broken there's a airport inspection site, less then 1,5 kilometers you'll have the main terminal where there are multiple cops guarding the airport (and annoying people that drop travellers and park to long). The moment the breach was noticed (
afaik the whole perimeter is guarded with camera's) they should have started a big police alarm and since there is virtually only one way out (the road where the fence was breached is a dead end road) they should been able to stop then or at least meet then when they left. But apparently they ware easily able to get away before the cops arrived... But maybe they argued over who would take the call, typical Belgian there are several agencies responsable... You'll have the regular Federal Police which is responsable outside the terminal, then you have the Airport devision of the Federal Police which are responsible airside and then you have a private company responsable inside the property... I wouldn't be surprised if they argued first for a while before deciding who would take the call
