Brussels airport will not reopen before Tuesday as it implements new security measures and repairs the departure hall wrecked by a suicide bomb attack earlier this week, a statement said today.

'Passenger flights at Brussels Airport will not resume before Tuesday 29 March,' Zaventem airport said in a statement.

'Brussels Airport is starting preparations to partially resume passenger flights and to implement the new security measures at Belgian airports, decided by the federal government,' it added.

It gave no details of what the new security measures involve but immediately after Tuesday's attacks, there was a lot of criticism that security at the airport was light, with no systematic checks on passengers entering the departure hall.