BRUSSELS AIRPORT DELAYS OPENING OF MAKESHIFT CHECK-IN AREAS

BRUSSELS— Brussels Airport said it will remain closed for passenger flights until at least Thursday afternoon as officials complete the evaluation of temporary repairs to reopen on a scaled-down basis more than a week after suicide bombs ripped through the departures hall. Airport officials were assessing the temporary arrangements to reopen the terminal at reduced capacity after the March 22 terrorist attacks destroyed the check-in area, shattered windows and brought down much of the ceiling, according to the airport. An assessment of the makeshift check-in and baggage drop-off system will be made in conjunction with the Belgian government, police and other security agencies, according to airport spokeswoman Nathalie Van Impe. “The evaluation of the trial is still ongoing and will take at least till (Thursday) afternoon,” the airport said Wednesday evening in a posting on Twitter. “No flights till then.” The temporary system will be able to process 800 passengers an hour compared with the normal 5,000. To restore the check-in area completely “could take months,” Arnaud Feist, chief executive officer of Brussels Airport, told Belgian media earlier this week. Police continue the search for a third suspect in the airport attack, a man in a white jacket seen on surveillancecamera video walking next to the two bombers who blew themselves up in the March 22 attacks. A separate suicide blast about an hour later hit a downtown subway station in the Belgian capital. Authorities said late Tuesday that a total of 32 victims were killed in the attacks.