Flights resume as Belgium reopens airspace

BRUSSELS -- Belgian airspace reopened after hours of closure caused by a technical problem on Thursday, according to the country's air traffic controller.

Belgocontrol, a public company in charge of Belgian air traffic, announced via Twitter that the problem has been resolved and Belgian airspace has reopened, to the delight of many travelers boarding flights at Brussels airport.

Earlier on Thursday, Brussels Airports wrote on Twitter that: "Due to an exceptional situation air traffic is temporarily suspended. Belgocontrol is looking into it. We are closely monitoring the situation", referring to the Belgium air traffic control authority.

The problem caused passengers severe disruption. This is in fact not the first time problems have arisen at European air traffic controls.

Indeed, in April, Eurocontrol had experienced a fault with its flight planning processing systems, leading to thousands of delayed flights across Europe.

European air travel has already been blighted by severe disruption so far this year, with carriers such as EasyJet, Ryanair, IAG and Lufthansa having to cancel hundreds of flights because of air traffic control strikes, staffing issues and severe weather.