Belgian international airport of Zaventem airport, which is still not operating, is seen behind fences more than a week after the attacks in Brussels metro and the airport, in Zaventem, Belgium, April 1, 2016. 
 
 BRUSSELS Brussels Airport will partially reopen for passengers on Sunday, 12 days after suicide bombers destroyed its departure hall and killed 16 people. 
 
 There will be far fewer flights than normal at the start and tighter security will be in place, but the airport operator said the aim was to return to full capacity by summer. 
 
 The country's main airport has not handled passenger flights since two suspected Islamist militants carried out the suicide attacks. Those bombs and a separate one on a metro train in the city killed 35 people, including three bombers. 
 
 "Never will we forget this black day," the airport's chief executive Arnaud Feist told a news conference. "A restart of the operations even only partially as quick as this is a sign of hope. 
 
 "As of tomorrow, Sunday, Brussels Airport should be partially operational," he added. 
 
 Feist said the airport had planned three flights for the first day, to Faro, Athens and Turin, all operated by Brussels Airlines. The number of flights should increase over time. 
 
 The airport is one of the largest in Europe, handling 23.5 million passengers and 489,000 tonnes of freight annually. It links the Belgian capital, headquarter city of the European Union and NATO, with 226 destinations worldwide through 77 different airlines. 
 
 With its temporary check-in zone, it will only be able to handle some 800 departing passengers per hour, around 20 percent of previous capacity. 
 
 The airport says it aims to return to maximum capacity before the start of summer holidays at the end of June or early July, with some check-in desks restored in the departure hall, followed by a full reopening of that space. 
 
 Initially, the airport will only be accessible by car. 
 
 Special cameras will be set up to read number plates, there will be random checks of vehicles and the drop-off zone will not be accessible. 
 
 Passengers and their baggage will be checked on arrival and there will be increased patrols of armed police and military. 
 
 Brussels Airlines, Belgium's largest carrier and 45 percent owned by Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), has estimated the closure of its Brussels hub is costing it 5 million euros ($5.7 million) per day. 
 
 The city's association of hotel operators pointed to the closed airport as one of the main reasons for a more than 50 percent drop in overnight stays up to March 28. 
 
 (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Jeremy Gaunt) ||||| Brussels Airport plans to resume limited short-haul passenger service on Sunday in a first test for the stringent security arrangements put in place 12 days after terrorists detonated nail bombs in the departures hall. 
 
 Only three flights by Brussels Airlines NV are scheduled on April 3, Brussels Airport Chief Executive Officer Arnaud Feist told reporters in Zaventem on Saturday. Checks will begin with random vehicle screenings on the sole access road to the Belgian capital’s airport. Travelers and luggage will be inspected in tents outside the main building and at a second security barrier in the makeshift check-in area, according to police spokesman Peter De Waele. 
 
 “The temporary arrangements won’t be able to offer the level of comfort travelers are used to at Brussels Airport,” Feist said. “Our main challenge is to rapidly return to normal capacity. We hope to have maximum capacity available at the start of the summer holidays, at the beginning of July.” 
 
 The tighter restrictions, agreed upon by Belgian authorities and police unions after two days of negotiations, may reduce airport capacity to even fewer than 800 people an hour, already a fraction of the regular 5,000 because of damage to the departures hall. Airport access will be restricted to cars and taxis initially, with train or bus service to resume later. The hub’s busiest airlines will continue using alternative airports next week. 
 
 Brussels Airlines, the top carrier at Zaventem with a third of passengers, said it will gradually expand offerings from Brussels, including some long-haul flights, starting Monday. Planes and crews used for intercontinental flights were sent to Frankfurt and Zurich to maintain links with the U.S. and a number of African destinations. The limitations will keep part of the airline’s short-haul fleet at regional airports in Liege and Antwerp initially. 
 
 Ryanair Holdings Plc, Zaventem’s second-biggest carrier, has shifted all Brussels flights to its Charleroi hub and said Thursday that it will keep all operations there until April 7 at least. TUI AG’s Jetairfly arm said flights will remain at Ostend in the north until April 10 and Thomas Cook Airlines will keep flying from Liege until April 11.
– Twelve days after suicide bombs killed 16 people there, the Brussels Airport will reopen—at least partially—on Sunday, Reuters reports. Brussels Airlines will fly three flights—to Greece, Italy, and Portugal—out of the airport that day. "A restart of the operations, even only partially, as quick as this is a sign of hope," the airport's chief executive says. According to Bloomberg, new security measures will be in place for the reopening. Vehicles approaching the airport will be randomly screened, travelers and baggage will be checked outside the airport, and there will be another security barrier inside the airport. Trains and buses will not be servicing the airport for the time being, and cameras will read the license plates of vehicles arriving there. These measures will drastically reduce the amount of passengers the airport can handle, but officials hope to be back to normal capacity by July.