Security fears rising at Brussels airport over faulty scanners

Brussels Airport has expressed security concerns over malfunctioning scanners, Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Tuesday.

Brussels Airport confirmed that "up to 50 percent automatic passport checks by scanner are defective," according to the report.

There are fears that this could lead to an increase in people illegally entering the country on false documents.

In 2013, the airport police caught 1,419 people traveling on a forged, falsified, stolen or otherwise fraudulent passports.

The police have confirmed that at least one passport reader at the airport is not working properly owing to a problem of the hard drive.

The police insist the problem will be repaired by next week.

Spokeswoman Kaatje Natens said that a "temporary solution" to the problem has been found, but no details have been given.

On April 21, representatives of the Schengen committee, which examines procedures governing the EU's free travel area, will pay a visit to the airport to inspect whether or not the security is sufficient. Endit