Bomb Hoax Grounds Flights at Major European Airport, 'Safety Perimeter' Created Around Aircraft: Reports

All flights were suspended at Brussels South Charleroi Airport on Tuesday, May 13, following a bomb hoax involving a Ryanair flight.

In a statement posted on their Facebook page, the airport said that operations had been stopped following a bomb alert that occurred just before 11 a.m. local time.

“Bomb alert on board a plane: Temporary closure of the runway,” the statement read. “This morning, shortly before 11 a.m., a bomb alert was triggered aboard a plane that landed at Charleroi Airport. A safety perimeter has been established around the aircraft, which requires the runway to be closed and therefore the operations to be stopped. The competent authorities have taken over. We will keep you informed as the situation develops.”

PEOPLE has contacted the Federal Police in Brussels for comment.

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Local outlet RTL Today reported a spokesperson as saying that the flight had departed from Portugal, just over 1,000 miles to the south.

“This Tuesday morning, shortly before 11 a.m., a bomb threat was reported on a flight coming from Porto,” the statement read. “The plane landed as scheduled at Charleroi Airport, where it was parked away from operational areas.”

Spokesperson Nathalie Pierard, told The Brussels Times “The plane has been moved to a separate area of the airport. The runway and the main road behind it are closed, and a security perimeter of 500 metres has been set up.”

The outlet reports that due to the terminal not falling within the 500-metre perimeter, the terminal was not evacuated.

“The police are on the scene and the 166 passengers will be evacuated from the plane once approved by the police,” Pierard told The Brussels Times. “It is currently unclear how long the disruption will last.”

“Lunchtime is an off-peak moment for flights, so not too many passengers should be affected,” the spokesperson said.

Per the outlet, other flights were redirected to Brussels Airport Zaventem and Lille in France during the incident.

Releasing an update at 1:45 p.m. local time, Brussels South Charleroi Airport confirmed that the runway had been reopened, adding that “operations can resume.”

In a statement to PEOPLE, Ryanair said that it was “informed of a security threat on flight FR6313 from Faro to Brussels Charleroi today, 13th May.”

“The aircraft landed normally at Charleroi as planned. Passengers have been disembarked and the aircraft is being prepared for return to service. We sincerely apologise to any passengers affected.”

*This is a breaking news story