Brussels Airport




















































Brussels Airport


Aéroport de Bruxelles-National (French)
Luchthaven Brussel-Nationaal (Dutch)

BrusselsAirport.svg
Brussels - National (Zaventem) - Melsbroek (BRU - EBBR - EBMB) AN1788412.jpg

  • IATA: BRU

  • ICAO: EBBR

Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Operator Brussels Airport Company
Belgian Air Component
Serves
Brussels, Belgium
Location
Zaventem, Belgium

Hub for


  • Brussels Airlines

  • TUI fly Belgium

  • Singapore Airlines Cargo


Elevation AMSL
184 ft / 56 m
Coordinates
50°54′05″N 004°29′04″E / 50.90139°N 4.48444°E / 50.90139; 4.48444Coordinates: 50°54′05″N 004°29′04″E / 50.90139°N 4.48444°E / 50.90139; 4.48444
Website brusselsairport.be
Maps

Airport diagram
Airport diagram



BRU is located in Belgium

BRU

BRU



Location in Belgium

Show map of Belgium



BRU is located in Europe

BRU

BRU



BRU (Europe)

Show map of Europe


Runways






























Direction
Length
Surface
m
ft
01/19
2,987
9,800
Asphalt
07R/25L
3,211
10,535
Asphalt
07L/25R
3,638
11,936
Asphalt

Statistics (2017)













Passengers 24,783,911
Freight (tonnes) 535,634
Aircraft movements 237,888
Sources: Brussels Airport,[1] Belgian AIP[2]

Brussels Airport (IATA: BRU, ICAO: EBBR) (also called Brussel-Nationaal / Bruxelles-National (Brussels-National) or Zaventem) is an international airport 6.5 NM (12.0 km; 7.5 mi) northeast[2] of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. In 2017, more than 24 million passengers arrived or departed at Brussels Airport, making it the 23rd busiest airport in Europe. It is located partially in Zaventem, partially in the Diegem area of Machelen,[3] and partially in Steenokkerzeel, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is home to around 260 companies, together directly employing 20,000 people and serves as the home base for Brussels Airlines and TUIfly Belgium.


The company operating the airport is known as The Brussels Airport Company N.V./S.A.; before 19 October 2006, the name was BIAC (Brussels International Airport Company), which was created by Belgian law through a merger of BATC with the ground operations departments of the RLW/RVA. Since 2011, the airport has been owned by the Toronto-based Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (39%), Macquarie Group (Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund I and Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund III) (36%) and the Belgian State (25%).[4]


On 22 March 2016 the airport's departures hall was severely damaged by the two terrorist bomb blasts. The airport was closed until 3 April 2016, when it reopened with temporary facilities at less than 20% of its previous capacity.[5] It has since returned to full operations, with a record of 90,000 passengers on 29 July 2016.[6]




Contents






  • 1 History


    • 1.1 Early years


    • 1.2 Development since the 1960s


    • 1.3 2016 Brussels bombings




  • 2 Facilities


    • 2.1 Pier A


    • 2.2 Pier B


    • 2.3 Planned


      • 2.3.1 Pier A West


      • 2.3.2 Low-cost pier




    • 2.4 Services


    • 2.5 Other facilities




  • 3 Airlines and destinations


    • 3.1 Passenger


    • 3.2 Cargo




  • 4 Statistics


    • 4.1 Traffic


    • 4.2 Routes




  • 5 Ground transportation


    • 5.1 Road


    • 5.2 Rail


    • 5.3 Tram


    • 5.4 Bicycle




  • 6 Accidents and incidents


  • 7 See also


  • 8 References


  • 9 External links





History



Early years


The origins of Brussels Airport at Zaventem date back to 1940, when the German occupying force claimed 600 ha (1,500 acres) of agricultural fields reserved as a back-up airfield ("Steenokkerzeel"). There the Luftwaffe established Fliegerhorst Melsbroek and constructed 3 runways in the shape of a triangle: runway 02/20, runway 07L/25R (both of which are still in use today) and runway 12/30. The airport buildings were constructed in the nearby municipality of Melsbroek and not of Zaventem, which is why the airfield was known to the locals as Melsbroek (in Dutch) (or "Fliegerhorst Melsbroek" in German). There is an urban legend that the site of the airport was chosen by the Germans after asking locals where to build it–the Belgians then pointed to this location as it was often foggy.


After the liberation on 3 September 1944, the German infrastructure at Melsbroek fell into the hands of the British. When the old civilian airport in Haren became too small, the Belgian authorities decided to use the aerodrome at Melsbroek for the new national airport. By 1948, a new terminal building was constructed to replace the old wooden building. In the same year, the lengths of both runways 02/20 and 07L/25R were increased, to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) and 2,450 m (8,040 ft) respectively, whereas 12/30 remained at 1,300 m (4,300 ft). The civil aerodrome of Melsbroek was officially opened by Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, the Prince Regent, on 20 July 1948. From 1948 to 1956 many more buildings and facilities were erected, mostly on the Melsbroek side of the site.


In 1955, a railway line from Brussels city centre to the airport was constructed. The line was officially opened by King Baudouin on 15 May 1955.


In 1956 a new 2,300 m (7,500 ft) runway was constructed, 07R/25L, which almost runs parallel with 07L/25R. The runway is still in use today and saw its length later increased to 3,200 m (10,500 ft). In April 1956 the Belgian government decided to build a new airport, using the same runways, but with the buildings located within the municipality of Zaventem. In April 1957, construction started of the new terminal, preparing the airport for the 1958 World Fair. The grass runway 12/30 had to make way to allow for the new passenger terminal. This new airport was inaugurated 5 July 1958, almost just in time for the 1958 World Fair. The buildings on the Melsbroek side are still in use by the Belgian Air Force (15th Air Transport Wing), and this is still known as Melsbroek airfield. Both Zaventem Airport and Melsbroek Air Base, the military airfield, share the same runways.[7]



Development since the 1960s





Sabena Boeing 707-300 at Brussels Airport in 1966


During the boom of commercial aviation in the 1960s and 1970s, several hangars were constructed. A new cargo terminal was constructed in 1976. In 1994, a brand new terminal was constructed adjacent to the old 1958 building. Two old piers were torn down and replaced by modern ones. In 2002, amidst the turmoil surrounding the demise of the national airline Sabena, a new pier was opened.


In 2005, the airport was awarded Best Airport in Europe by Airports Council International/International Air Transport Association (ACI/IATA), based on a survey of over 100,000 passengers worldwide. Brussels Airport continued to appear in top airports lists as of 2012. A direct train link with Leuven and Liège was opened on 12 December 2005.


In 2007, the airport served 17.8 million passengers, an increase of 7% over 2006. The cargo volume in the same year amounted to 780,000 tonnes, an increase of 8.9% over 2006. In 2008, the airport served 18.5 million passengers, which was an increase of 3.7% over the previous year.[8]


Sabena's demise meant a sharp fall in passenger traffic, a blow from which the airport only slowly recovered. The airport's future is threatened by disagreement between the governments of Flanders and the Brussels Capital Region concerning night-time air traffic routes.


In March 2009, the old mechanical Flight information display systems were replaced by electronic ones.[9] In September 2009, CEO Wilfried Van Assche resigned. One of the (unofficial) reasons was the delay in the construction of the low-cost terminal and the possible lawsuit by 52 airlines active at Brussels Airport, on the grounds of tax discrimination. It was Van Assche who started expanding the Long-Haul network (Jet Airways, Hainan Airlines, Etihad Airways and US Airways) at Brussels Airport. In February 2010 Arnaud Feist was appointed CEO. The Chairman of the Board is Marc Descheemaecker [nl].


According to an unofficial study, Brussels Airport is the most noise-polluting airport of 30 European airports in terms of the noise levels created and the number of people affected by take-off and landing operations.[10]


In November 2015, Jet Airways announced to shut down their scissor hub operations at Brussels Airport, which they maintained for several years, by 26 March 2016.[11] Two routes incoming from India met here and exchanged passengers for the onward flights to Newark and Toronto.[12]



2016 Brussels bombings



On 22 March 2016, two explosions took place in Brussels Airport at 07:58 local time. One occurred near the American Airlines and Brussels Airlines check-in desks and the other next to a Starbucks coffee shop. A third bomb was found in the airport and detonated in a controlled explosion. The airport was closed after the attacks until 3 April, when it reopened with temporary facilities at less than 20% of its previous passenger capacity.[5] Flights bound to Brussels Airport were either canceled or diverted to nearby airports such as Brussels South Charleroi Airport, Ostend–Bruges International Airport, and Schiphol. At 09:11 CET, an explosion took place at Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attacks as an act of revenge against Belgium for participation in the ongoing Military intervention against ISIL.[13]



Facilities




Terminal exterior




Departures area at Pier A




Runway and apron




Control tower


Brussels Airport uses a one terminal concept, meaning that all the facilities are located under a single roof. The terminal building consists of several levels. The railway station is located on −1, buses and taxis arrive at 0, arrivals are located on level 2 and departures on level 3. Levels 2 and 3 are connected to the airport's two piers (A and B).[14]



Pier A


Pier A is the newest pier on Brussels Airport and was opened on 15 May 2002. This pier was destined to support flights from and to the Schengen countries (A-gates). However, since 15 October 2008 all Brussels Airlines flights to African destinations are also handled at this pier. Therefore, border control was installed towards the end of the pier in order to create a new pier. As a result, gates A61-72 were renamed T61-72. Later, Brussels Airlines' daily flight to New York was also moved here from pier B.


Until March 26, 2015,[15] Pier A was connected to the main building via a 400-metre-long (1,300 ft) tunnel under the apron. Each pier used to have its own security zone, so transfer between the piers involved a security check. This tunnel was replaced by the "Connector", a new building that links both piers above ground and allows passengers to walk straight from the check-in desk to their gate in pier A or B, without changing floors. In the opposite direction, the building provides arriving passengers with a smooth and convenient passage to the baggage reclaim hall and the exit. Furthermore, border control has been relocated behind the 25-lane screening platform (Europe's largest) inside the Connector which means that changing planes no longer requires a security check.



Pier B


Pier B is the oldest pier still in use at Brussels Airport and is only used for flights outside the Schengen Area. Pier B is connected immediately to the main departure hall and consists of two decks. The upper deck (level 3) is at the same level as the departure halls and is used for the departing passengers, whereas the lower deck (level 2) is used for arriving passengers and connects immediately to border control and the baggage claim area.



Planned



Pier A West


Pier A West is a planned expansion of Pier A, and is meant to relieve Pier B by also handling flights from non-Schengen countries. Pier A West was due to open in 2016, but because of the slow passenger growth, Brussels Airport announced in July 2013 that the works would be delayed. However, in November 2015, Brussels Airport announced a major 550 million euro investment and pointed out that within this investment the extension of the pier is included.[16]



Low-cost pier


Just as is the case for Pier A West, the construction of a new low-cost pier is currently on hold. It will be built roughly where the old south pier used to be. At present, several low-cost airlines including Ryanair and Wizz Air fly to Brussels-South Charleroi Airport, 40 km (25 mi) away from Brussels.[17] In autumn 2013, low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines announced it would end its flights between Brussels Airport and Turkey. The service between Brussels and Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen would relocate to Brussels-South Charleroi Airport. However, Turkish Airlines announced on 26 November 2013 it would offer one daily flight on the same route, starting one month after Pegasus terminated its operations at the airport.[18] One day later, Ryanair announced the opening of a second Belgian base at Brussels Airport, giving a boost to low-cost traffic at Brussels Airport. Ryanair announced on 27 November 10 new routes from Brussels Airport,[19] although Brussels-South Charleroi Airport will remain the low-cost carrier's primary Belgian base.



Services


Shops, bars and restaurants are scattered throughout the building. A few facilities are located in the departure area. These are mostly convenience stores and small shops such as the airport shop, a pharmacy, Relay stores and a coffee shop. But most of the facilities can only be accessed after Security control –and are tax free. Several brands and chains have a branch in both piers, however several only operate in pier A. The airport also features places of worship (for Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Protestants), as well as a place for meditation for humanists. The airport provides meeting facilities and can host congresses up to 600 participants, either in the Regus Skyport Meeting Center or in the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel. The latter is the only hotel located on the airport grounds, opposite the terminal. Shuttle services are provided to 14 nearby hotels.


All passengers now have unlimited free Wi-Fi access.[20][21][22]


There is a small smoking room next to gate A67 in the transfer section of pier A.



Other facilities


Several airlines have or had its head offices at the grounds of Brussels Airport. Brussels Airlines has its corporate head office in the b.house, Airport Building 26, located in Diegem, Machelen.[3][23]European Air Transport had its head office in Building 4–5, in Zaventem.[24] Before Sabena went out of business, its head office was in the Sabena House on the grounds of Brussels Airport.[25] When it existed, Virgin Express had its head office in Building 116 in Zaventem.[26]SN Brussels, which formed in 2002, had its head office in Airport Building 117 in Zaventem when it existed.[27] Prior to its disestablishment, Sobelair had its head office in Building 45 in Zaventem.[28][29]CityBird was based in building 117D.[30] The cargo airline Cargo B Airlines had its head office in the Brucarco Building 706 in Zaventem.[31]



Airlines and destinations



Passenger


The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Brussels:[32]



























































































































































































































































































Airlines Destinations

Adria Airways
Ljubljana

Aegean Airlines
Athens

Aer Lingus
Dublin

Aeroflot
Moscow–Sheremetyevo

Air Algérie
Algiers, Oran

Air Arabia Maroc
Fez, Casablanca, Nador, Tangier

airBaltic
Riga, Tallinn (begins 3 June 2019)[33]

Air Canada
Montréal–Trudeau

Air Europa
Madrid

Air Malta
Malta

Air Moldova
Chișinău

Air Serbia
Belgrade

Air Transat
Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau

Alitalia
Milan–Linate, Rome–Fiumicino

Alitalia CityLiner
Milan–Linate

All Nippon Airways
Tokyo–Narita

Austrian Airlines
Vienna

Blue Air
Bacău, Bucharest, Iași
Seasonal: Constanța

British Airways
London–Heathrow

Brussels Airlines
Abidjan, Accra, Agadir, Alicante, Banjul, Barcelona, Basel/Mulhouse, Berlin–Tegel, Bilbao, Billund, Birmingham, Bologna, Bordeaux, Budapest, Bujumbura, Conakry, Copenhagen, Cotonou, Dakar–Diass, Douala, Edinburgh, Entebbe, Faro, Freetown, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Geneva, Gothenburg, Gran Canaria, Hamburg, Hannover, Hurghada, Kiev–Boryspil,[34]Kigali, Kinshasa-N'djili, Kraków, Lanzarote, Lisbon, Lomé, London–Heathrow, Luanda, Lyon, Madrid, Málaga, Manchester, Marrakech, Marsa Alam, Marseille, Milan–Linate, Milan–Malpensa, Monrovia, Moscow–Domodedovo, Mumbai (ends 6 January 2019),[35]Nantes, Naples, New York–JFK, Nice, Oslo–Gardermoen, Ouagadougou, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Porto, Prague, Rome–Fiumicino, St. Petersburg, Stockholm–Bromma, Strasbourg, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion, Tenerife–South, Toronto–Pearson, Toulouse, Turin, Venice, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Yaoundé, Yerevan
Seasonal: Ajaccio, Almería, Antalya, Athens, Bastia, Boa Vista, Burgas, Calvi, Catania, Chania, Comiso, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Enfidha, Figari, Florence, Girona, Heraklion, Ibiza, Jerez de la Frontera, Kalamata, Kos, Lourdes/Tarbes, Menorca, Mykonos, Ohrid, Olbia, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Sal, Santorini, Seville, Split, Thessaloniki, Tivat, Varna, Washington–Dulles, Zadar,[36]Zagreb, Zakynthos
Seasonal charter: Djerba,[37]Monastir[37]

Bulgaria Air
Sofia

Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong

Corendon Airlines
Antalya[38]
Seasonal: Bodrum, Burgas, Heraklion, Hurghada, Kos,[39]Rhodes[40]

Croatia Airlines
Zagreb

Czech Airlines
Prague

Delta Air Lines
Atlanta, New York–JFK

easyJet
Bordeaux, Nice

easyJet Switzerland
Basel/Mulhouse, Geneva

EgyptAir
Cairo

El Al
Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion

Emirates
Dubai–International

Ethiopian Airlines
Addis Ababa1

Etihad Airways
Abu Dhabi

Eurowings
Salzburg, Stuttgart

Finnair
Helsinki

flybmi
Bristol, East Midlands, Nuremberg, Newcastle upon Tyne

Freebird Airlines
Seasonal charter: Antalya, Bodrum

Georgian Airways
Tbilisi[41]

Hainan Airlines
Beijing–Capital, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenzhen

HOP!
Lyon, Rennes
Seasonal: Calvi

Iberia
Madrid

Icelandair
Reykjavík–Keflavík

KLM
Amsterdam

KLM Cityhopper
Amsterdam

LOT Polish Airlines
Warsaw–Chopin

Lufthansa
Frankfurt, Munich

Middle East Airlines
Beirut

Nordica

Tallinn

Onur Air
Antalya

Pegasus Airlines
Seasonal: Antalya

Qatar Airways
Doha

Qeshm Air
Tehran–Imam Khomeini

Royal Air Maroc
Casablanca, Nador, Rabat, Tangier
Seasonal: Al Hoceima, Oujda
RwandAir Kigali2

Ryanair
Alicante, Amman–Queen Alia, Barcelona, Berlin–Schönefeld, Dublin, Larnaca, Lisbon, Madrid, Málaga, Milan–Malpensa, Marrakech, Porto, Rome–Fiumicino, Treviso, Valencia
Seasonal: Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca

Scandinavian Airlines
Copenhagen, Oslo–Gardermoen, Stockholm–Arlanda

SunExpress
Seasonal: Ankara, Antalya,[42]Izmir

Swiss International Air Lines
Zürich

Tailwind Airlines
Charter: Antalya, Eskişehir

TAP Air Portugal
Lisbon, Porto (resumes 1 June 2019)

TAROM
Bucharest

Thai Airways
Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi

TUI fly Belgium[43]

Agadir, Alicante, Almería, Antalya, Banjul, Boa Vista, Cancún, Djerba, Enfidha, Fez, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Lanzarote, Málaga, Marrakech, Marsa Alam, Miami, Montego Bay, La Palma, Luxor, Pristina, Punta Cana, Rabat, Sal, Santo Domingo, Sharm El Sheikh, Tangier, Tenerife–South, Tirana, Valencia, Varadero
Seasonal: Ajaccio, Araxos, Aruba, Athens, Bastia, Bodrum, Brač, Brindisi, Burgas, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Curaçao, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Girona, Heraklion, Ibiza, Izmir, Jerez de la Frontera, Kavala, Kittilä, Kos, Lamezia Terme, Lourdes, Menorca, Mombasa, Mykonos, Mytilene, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Patras, Ponta Delgada, Puerto Plata, Reus, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Thessaloniki, Tivat, Varna, Volos, Zakynthos, Zanzibar
Tunisair
Djerba, Monastir, Tunis
Turkish Airlines
İstanbul–Atatürk (ends 31 December 2018),[44]Istanbul (ISL) (begins 1 January 2019),[44]Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Ukraine International Airlines
Kiev–Boryspil
United Airlines
Chicago–O'Hare, Newark, Washington–Dulles
Vueling
Alicante, Barcelona, Málaga, Valencia
Seasonal: Santiago de Compostela
WOW air
Reykjavík–Keflavík

^1 Ethiopian's flight from Brussels to Addis Ababa makes a stop in Vienna. However, the airline does not have traffic rights to transport passengers solely between Brussels and Vienna.
^2 RwandAir's flight from Kigali to Brussels continues on to London-Gatwick. However, the airline does not have traffic rights to transport passengers solely between Brussels and London-Gatwick.



Cargo























































Airlines Destinations

Air Algérie Cargo
Algiers, Casablanca

Asiana Cargo
Anchorage, London–Stansted, New York–JFK, Seoul–Incheon
ASL Airlines Belgium Helsinki
Avianca Cargo Bogotá, Miami[45]
DHL Aviation Bahrain, Barcelona, Bergamo, Bratislava, Budapest, Cincinnati, Copenhagen, East Midlands, Oslo–Gardermoen, Helsinki, Lagos, Leipzig/Halle, Lisbon, London–Heathrow, Madrid, Shanghai, Seoul–Incheon,[46]Vitoria

Emirates SkyCargo
Chicago–O'Hare, Dubai–Al Maktoum

Ethiopian Airlines Cargo
Addis Ababa, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, New York–JFK, Shanghai[47]

LATAM Cargo Chile
Frankfurt, Campinas–Viracopos, Santiago de Chile[48]

Qatar Airways Cargo
Doha, Entebbe, London Stansted, Nairobi, Oslo–Gardermoen, Stavanger

Royal Air Maroc
Casablanca

Saudia Cargo
Dammam, Jeddah, Milan–Malpensa, Riyadh, Vienna

Singapore Airlines Cargo
Bangalore, Mumbai, Sharjah, Singapore


Statistics



Traffic

























































































































































































































































Traffic by calendar year[1][49]
Year Passenger volume Change over previous year Aircraft operations Change over previous year Cargo (tonnes) Change over previous year
2017
24,783,911
Increase013.60%
237,888
Increase06.30%
535,634
Increase08.30%
2016
21,818,418
Decrease07.00%
223,688
Decrease06.50%
494,637
Increase01.10%
2015
23,460,018
Increase06.96%
239,349
Increase03.38%
489,303
Increase07.79%
2014
21,933,190
Increase014.60%
231,528
Increase06.90%
453,954
Increase05.60%
2013
19,133,222
Increase00.90%
216,678
Decrease03.00%
429,938
Decrease06.40%
2012
18,971,332
Increase01.00%
223,431
Decrease04.40%
459,265
Decrease03.30%
2011
18,786,034
Increase09.30%
233,758
Increase03.60%
475,124
Decrease00.20%
2010
17,180,606
Increase01.10%
225,682
Decrease02.60%
476,135
Increase06.00%
2009
16,999,154
Decrease08.20%
231,668
Decrease010.50%
449,132
Decrease032.1%
2008
18,515,730
Increase03.40%
258,795
Decrease02.10%
661,143
Decrease015.60%
2007
17,900,000
Increase07.10%
264,366
Increase03.80%
783,727
Increase08.90%
2006
16,707,892
Increase03.30%
254,772
Increase00.60%
719,561
Increase02.40%
2005
16,179,733
Increase03.50%
253,255
Decrease00.30%
702,819
Increase05.80%
2004
15,632,773
Increase02.90%
254,070
Increase00.70%
664,375
Increase09.40%
2003
15,194,097
Increase05.40%
252,249
Decrease01.80%
607,136
Increase013.1%
2002
14,410,555
Decrease026.8%
256,889
Decrease015.9%
536,826
Decrease08.00%
2001
19,684,867
Decrease09.00%
305,532
Decrease06.30%
583,729
Decrease015.1%
2000
21,637,003
Increase07.90%
352,972
Increase04.20%
687,385
Increase01.90%
1999
20,048,532
Increase015.7%
312,892
Increase04.30%
674,837
1998
18,400,000
Increase015.7%
300,000
Increase08.30%


1997
15,900,000
Increase018.7%
277,000
Increase04.90%


1996
13,400,000
Increase07.20%
264,000


1995
12,500,000
Increase011.6%



1994
11,200,000


1993
10,000,000+


1950
240,000+




  • The relapse in 2001 and 2002 is due to the combined effects of the September 11 Attacks and the collapse of then home carrier Sabena in the final quarter of 2001.

  • The Cargo relapse in 2008 and 2009 is due to the combined effects of the Financial crisis of 2007–08, also affecting passenger volumes in 2009, and the relocation of DHL Aviation to Leipzig/Halle Airport. DHL departed after the Belgian government decided they couldn't operate more cargo flights at night because of noise for the people living in the surrounding area.

  • The 2016 decrease in passenger numbers and aircraft movements results from the 2016 Brussels bombings which caused the airport to close for 11 days before reopening with severely reduced capacity.



Routes



















































































Busiest European routes from Brussels Airport[50]
Rank
Destination
Airport(s)
Passengers 2017
Passengers 2016
1

Spain Madrid

MAD
966,146
763,016
2

Spain Barcelona

BCN
927,618
889,180
3

Portugal Lisbon

LIS
738,243
698,131
4

Italy Rome

FCO
719,436
713,392
5

United Kingdom London

LHR
654,712
587,487
6

Italy Milan

MXP, LIN
644,841
492,068
7

Germany Berlin

TXL, SXF
622,816
703,272
8

Switzerland Geneva

GVA
591,857
545,230
9

Germany Frankfurt

FRA
549,296
467,068
10

Spain Malaga

AGP
533,863
499,228


















































































Busiest Intercontinental routes from Brussels Airport[51]
Rank
Destination
Airport(s)
Passengers 2017
Passengers 2016
1

United States New York City

JFK, EWR
454,187
441,212
2

Israel Tel Aviv

TLV
295,464
267,366
3

United States Washington, D.C.

IAD
231,859
212,027
4

United Arab Emirates Dubai

DXB
228,001
187,049
5

Canada Montréal

YUL
197,550
174,843
6

United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi

AUH
170,549
144,239
7

Qatar Doha

DOH
169,111
156,644
8

Morocco Casablanca

CMN
159,188
142,294
9

United States Chicago

ORD
131,388
92,282
10

China Beijing

PEK
130,211
108,464


Ground transportation



Road




Brussels Airport bus service


Brussels Airport can be reached by car via the A201, which is directly connected to the Brussels Ring Road. From there, the main highways of Belgium can directly be accessed. Private partners provide three car parks at the airport, offering in total 10,600 parking spaces. Shell operates a self-service gas station near the exit of the airport complex.


Several car rental services are located in the airport as well. Europcar, Hertz, Sixt and Thrifty all operate at Brussels Airport. DriveNow also offers a car sharing service at Brussels airport located at P3 Holiday Parking,[52] and Zipcar has parking spaces.[53] Taxi2Share provides sharing cab service from airport.


De Lijn provides bus transportation to and from various cities in Flanders from platforms A and B (via Brucargo). The MIVB/STIB provides transportation into Brussels city centre at Brussels Luxembourg Station via line 12 (weekdays before 8 pm) or line 21 (weekends and evenings after 8 pm) from platform C. Platform E is used by the Hotel Shuttles, offering shuttle services to several hotels near the area.


Taxis are permanently available in front of the arrivals hall. Licensed taxis can be recognized by the blue and yellow emblem.



Rail






Brussels National Airport railway station


The Airport Railway Station is located under the airport building at level −1. The train station has direct services to Antwerp, Brussels, De Panne, Ghent, Hasselt, Landen, Leuven, Mechelen, Nivelles and Quévy. At least four trains per hour serve the most used link to Brussels South Railway Station, where international connections are offered by Eurostar (to London), Thalys (to Amsterdam, Avignon, Cologne, Essen, Lille, Marseille, Paris and Valence), ICE (to Cologne and Frankfurt), and Eurocity (to Basel, Bern, Chur, Luxembourg and Zürich).


A direct train link with Leuven was opened on 12 December 2005. A direct link with Antwerp and Mechelen via the so-called Diabolo line was opened for public service on 10 June 2012. The Diabolo project is a public-private partnership. It has been decided that all rail passengers to the Brussels National Airport railway station pay a "Diabolo supplement" to finance the ongoing and planned work.


As of December 2014, a direct train link between Bruges and the Airport will be offered,[54] just as an Intercity service to Schiphol and Amsterdam.[55]


Since the new Schuman-Josaphat tunnel[56] has been finished, a new connection has been established to connect Brussels Airport directly to the stations of the EU quarter, being Brussels-Schuman and Brussels-Luxembourg. This brought the travel time between the Airport and the EU quarter to 15 minutes. The Belgian Railways announced the line to open as an hourly service.[57][58][59] However, the line now sees a train every 30 minutes on weekdays.[60]



Tram


In an attempt to alleviate gridlock around Brussels, the regional transport company De Lijn started the Brabantnet project.[61]
Three new lightrail lines will be created, of which 2 will have a stop at Brussels Airport;



  • The Airport Tram, connecting Brussels Airport to Brussels-North, but taking a different trajectory from the existing railway line.

  • The Ring Tram, roughly following the northern side of the Brussels Ring and connecting several Brussels suburbs and Vilvoorde to the Airport


The Brabantnet project is scheduled to be finished by 2020.


To speed up the process, testing started in August 2016 with a Trambus, a Bus rapid transit system developed by Belgian bus builder Van Hool. As these require less investment, the Ringtrambus could enter into service as early as 2019. This solution would be an in-between step until the tram line is finished.[62] In November 2017, De Lijn placed an order with Van Hool for 14 24-metre double-articulated buses, each carrying up to 137 people.[63]



Bicycle


Brussels Airport has a special separated road that provides access to the airport for bikers and pedestrians. There is also a special place to park bikes. By 2018 a connection will be created between the airport and the Bike Highway Brussels - Leuven.[64] This should increase the number of employees commuting by bike, which only stands at 1%.[65]



Accidents and incidents




The Boeing 747 that overran the runway in 2008



  • On 15 February 1961, Sabena Flight 548, a Boeing 707, crashed during approach on runway 20, killing all 72 people on board and one on the ground.[66] This was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 707, resulting in the death of the entire United States Figure Skating team on its way to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia, which the International Skating Union subsequently cancelled out of respect for the team.

  • Four aircraft were destroyed on 5 May 2006 when Sabena Technics' hangar 40 burned down. The aircraft were one Lockheed C-130 Hercules (Belgian Air Component) and three Airbus A320 (Armavia, Armenian International Airways and Hellas Jet).

  • On 25 May 2008, a Boeing 747-200F operated by Kalitta Air, overran the shorter runway 20, crashed into a field and split in three. Four of the five people on board received minor injuries.[67]

  • On 18 February 2013, in the 2013 Belgium diamond heist, eight men armed with automatic weapons and dressed in police uniforms seized 120 small parcels containing an estimated US$50 million worth of diamonds from a Helvetic Airways Fokker 100 passenger plane loaded with passengers preparing for departure to Zürich. The men drove two vehicles through a hole they had cut in the airport perimeter fence to Flight LX789, which had just been loaded with diamonds from a Brink's armored van from Antwerp. They carried out the operation within five minutes with no injuries and without firing a shot.[68][69][70]



See also


  • Transport in Belgium



References


 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.





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External links


Media related to Brussels Airport at Wikimedia Commons




  • Official website (in English)


  • Current weather for EBBR at NOAA/NWS


  • Accident history for BRU at Aviation Safety Network












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