Investigation launched into Eindhoven Airport's parking lot collapse; expected to take months

By Janene Pieters on May 29, 2017 - 10:20
Parking garage collapses at Eindhoven Airport, 27 May 2017
Parking garage collapses at Eindhoven Airport, 27 May 2017. (Photo: @InetteH / Twitter)

An investigation into why a new parking garage at Eindhoven Airport collapsed on Saturday could take months, according to Eindhovens Dagblad. According to airport director Joost Meijs, the main priority is restoring the traffic flow to the airport. "Airport is accessible, but it is much more complicated." he said to the newspaper on Sunday. He couldn't say anything about the cause of te collapse, calling named causes "pure speculation". 

The parking lot colapsed around 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, according to ANP. It was sill under construction. No one was injured. The collapse knocked out the power to an adjascent runway, causing some delays in departing flights. Arriving flights were not affected. 

The new parking garage was meant to replace an old parking lot in front of the terminal, according to the news wire. The second, third and fourth floors had space for some 800 cars. The first part of the garage was set to open later this year. Construction company BAM is responsible for the project. The company is investigating what happened. 

The collapse caused a lot of damage. The airport was forced to close down the area around the parking garage and move the "drop and go" area. 

The Dutch Safety Board isn't launching an investigation into the collapse as yet. "Only when we are sure that it has added value, we will do that", a spokesperson said to Eindhovens Dagblad. He expects that a decision on whether to investigate will be made later this week. 

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