Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport Luchthaven Brussel-Nationaal (Dutch) Aéroport de Bruxelles-National (French)
IATA: BRU – ICAO: EBBR
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Operator	Brussels Airport Company Belgian Air Component
Serves	Brussels, Belgium
Location	Zaventem, Belgium
Hub for	Abelag Aviation Brussels Airlines Finnair Cargo Saudia Cargo Singapore Airlines Cargo Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium TUIfly Belgium
Elevation AMSL	184 ft / 56 m
Coordinates	50°54′05″N 004°29′04″E / 50.90139°N 4.48444°ECoordinates: 50°54′05″N 004°29′04″E / 50.90139°N 4.48444°E
Website	brusselsairport.be
Maps
Airport diagram
BRU Location in Belgium
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 (2015)
Passengers 23,460,018 Freight (tonnes) 489,303 Aircraft movements 239,349
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 2015, more than 23 million passengers arrived or departed at Brussels Airport, making it the 21st 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, TUIfly Belgium and Thomas Cook Airlines 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]

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 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.

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, busses 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 to a 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 has announced it will end its flights between Brussels Airport and Turkey. The service between Brussels and Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen will relocate to Brussels-South Charleroi Airport. However, Turkish Airlines announced on 26 November 2013 it will offer one daily flight on the same route, starting one month after Pegasus terminates 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] Telenet, Boingo Wireless and iPass Inc. customers continue to have unlimited free Wi-Fi access through their personal accounts.^[21]

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][22] European Air Transport had its head office in Building 4–5, in Zaventem.^[23] Before Sabena went out of business, its head office was in the Sabena House on the grounds of Brussels Airport.^[24] When it existed, Virgin Express had its head office in Building 116 in Zaventem.^[25] SN Brussels, which formed in 2002, had its head office in Airport Building 117 in Zaventem when it existed.^[26] Prior to its disestablishment, Sobelair had its head office in Building 45 in Zaventem.^[27][28]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations	Pier
Adria Airways	Ljubljana	A
Aegean Airlines	Athens Seasonal: Corfu, Heraklion, Rhodes, Thessaloniki	A
Aer Lingus	Dublin	B
Aeroflot	Moscow-Sheremetyevo	B
Air Algérie	Algiers, Oran	B
Air Arabia Maroc	Casablanca, Nador, Tangier	B
airBaltic	Riga	A
Air Canada	Montréal-Trudeau	B
Air Europa	Madrid	A
Air France operated by HOP!	Bordeaux, Lyon	A
Air Malta	Malta	A
Air Moldova	Chișinău	B
Air Serbia	Belgrade	B
Air Transat	Seasonal: Montréal-Trudeau	B
Alitalia	Milan-Linate, Rome-Fiumicino	A
Alitalia operated by Alitalia CityLiner	Milan-Linate	A
All Nippon Airways	Tokyo-Narita	B
Austrian Airlines	Vienna	A
Blue Air	Bacău, Bucharest, Iași	B
BMI Regional	East Midlands, Newcastle upon Tyne	B
British Airways	London-Heathrow	B
Brussels Airlines	Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Basel/Mulhouse, Berlin-Tegel, Bilbao, Bologna, Budapest, Copenhagen, Faro, Funchal (begins 1 April 2017),[29] Geneva, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Gran Canaria, Hamburg, Kraków, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Málaga, Marseille, Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, Naples, Nice, Oslo-Gardermoen, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Porto, Prague, Rome-Fiumicino, Stockholm-Bromma, Strasbourg, Tenerife-South, Toulouse, Turin, Venice-Marco Polo, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw-Chopin Seasonal: Ajaccio, Bastia, Bordeaux, Calvi, Catania, Comiso (begins 3 June 2017),[29] Figari, Florence, Heraklion, Ibiza, Jerez de la Frontera, Lourdes, Malta, Olbia, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca (begins 27 April 2017),[30] Rhodes (begins 27 May 2017),[29] Seville, Thessaloniki	A
Brussels Airlines	Agadir, Birmingham, Belfast-City, Edinburgh, London-Heathrow, Manchester, Marrakech, Moscow-Domodedovo, Mumbai (begins 6 March 2017),[31] New York-JFK, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Toronto-Pearson, Yerevan (begins 31 March 2017),[32] Zagreb Seasonal: Dubrovnik, Saint Petersburg, Washington-Dulles	B
Brussels Airlines	Abidjan, Accra, Banjul, Bujumbura, Conakry, Cotonou, Dakar, Douala, Entebbe, Freetown, Kigali, Kinshasa-N'djili, Lomé, Luanda, Monrovia, Ouagadougou, Yaoundé	T
Brussels Airlines operated by ASL Airlines France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle	A
Brussels Airlines operated by BMI Regional	Bremen, Nantes, Nuremberg, Strasbourg	A
Brussels Airlines operated by BMI Regional	Bristol	B
Brussels Airlines operated by Flybe	Basel, Billund, Hamburg, Hannover	A
Brussels Airlines operated by Flybe	Birmingham	B
Bulgaria Air	Sofia	B
Corendon Airlines	Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman	B
Croatia Airlines	Zagreb	B
Croatia Airlines operated by Trade Air	Zagreb	B
Czech Airlines	Prague	A
Delta Air Lines	New York-JFK Seasonal: Atlanta (resumes 27 March 2017)[33]	B
easyJet	Berlin-Schönefeld (ends 25 March 2017),[34] Bordeaux, Milan-Malpensa (ends 8 January 2017),[35] Naples, Nice	A
easyJet Switzerland	Basel/Mulhouse, Geneva	A
EgyptAir	Cairo	B
El Al	Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion	B
Emirates	Dubai-International	B
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa^1	B
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi	B
Eurowings	Salzburg (begins 13 January 2017)[36]	A
Eurowings operated by Germanwings	Stuttgart	A
Finnair	Helsinki	A
Finnair operated by Nordic Regional Airlines	Helsinki	A
Freebird Airlines	Seasonal charter: Antalya, Bodrum	B
Hainan Airlines	Beijing-Capital	B
Iberia	Madrid	A
Icelandair	Reykjavík-Keflavík	A
KLM	Amsterdam	A
KLM operated by KLM Cityhopper	Amsterdam	A
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw-Chopin	A
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich	A
Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine	Frankfurt, Munich	A
Middle East Airlines	Beirut	B
Nordica operated by LOT Polish Airlines	Tallinn	A
Nouvelair	Seasonal charter: Djerba, Monastir	B
Onur Air	Antalya	B
Pegasus Airlines	Seasonal: Antalya	B
Qatar Airways	Doha	B
Royal Wings	Seasonal charter: Aqaba	B
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca, Nador, Rabat, Tangier Seasonal: Al Hoceima, Oujda	B
Ryanair[37]	Alicante, Barcelona, Berlin-Schönefeld, Hamburg, Lisbon, Madrid, Málaga, Malta, Milan-Malpensa, Palma de Mallorca, Porto, Rome-Fiumicino, Treviso, Valencia Seasonal: Grenoble (begins 17 December 2016),[38] Ibiza	A
Ryanair[37]	Dublin, Larnaca	B
Scandinavian Airlines	Copenhagen, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda Seasonal: Gothenburg-Landvetter	A
SunExpress	Seasonal: Ankara (begins 22 June 2017),[39] Izmir	B
Swiss International Air Lines	Zürich	A
Swiss International Air Lines operated by Swiss Global Air Lines	Zürich	A
Tailwind Airlines	Charter: Antalya, Eskişehir	B
TAP Portugal	Lisbon	A
TAROM	Bucharest	B
Thai Airways	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi	B
Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium	Almería, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife–South Seasonal: Chania, Corfu, Girona, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kos, Málaga, Menorca, Mykonos, Reus, Rhodes, Rimini, Santorini, Zakynthos	A
Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium	Agadir, Boa Vista, Hurghada, Marrakesh, Sal, Sharm el-Sheikh (resumes 3 July 2017) Seasonal: Burgas, Djerba, Dubrovnik, Marsa Alam, Ohrid, Paphos, Split, Tivat, Varna	B
Transavia	Seasonal charter: Heraklion, Tenerife-South	A
TUIfly Belgium	Alicante, Almería, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Málaga, La Palma, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Ajaccio, Athens, Bastia, Brindisi, Burgas, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Faro, Girona, Heraklion, Ibiza, Jerez de la Frontera, Kittilä (begins 24 December 2016), Kos, Lamezia Terme, Lourdes, Menorca, Mykonos, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Ponta Delgada, Reus, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Thessaloniki, Varna, Zakynthos	A
TUIfly Belgium	Agadir, Antalya, Banjul, Boa Vista, Cancún, Hurghada, Marrakech, Marsa Alam, Miami, Montego Bay, Pristina, Punta Cana, Rabat, Sal, Santo Domingo, Sharm el-Sheikh,[40][41] Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Tirana, Varadero Seasonal: Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Izmir, Orlando-Sanford, Paphos, Tivat (begins 28 April 2017), Zanzibar	B
Tunisair	Djerba, Enfidha, Monastir, Tunis	B
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen	B
Ukraine International Airlines	Kiev-Boryspil	B
United Airlines	Chicago-O'Hare, Newark, Washington-Dulles	B
Vueling	Alicante, Barcelona, Málaga, Valencia Seasonal: Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca	A
WOW air	Reykjavík-Keflavík (begins 2 June 2017)	A

^1 Ethiopian's flight from Brussels to Addis Ababa makes a stop in Paris. However, the airline does not have traffic rights to transport passengers solely between Brussels and Paris.

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Air Algérie Cargo	Algiers, Casablanca
Asiana Cargo	Anchorage, Halifax, London-Stansted, New York-JFK, Seoul-Incheon
ASL Airlines Belgium	Helsinki
Demavia operated by Air Cargo Global	Lagos, Lomé, Luanda, Nairobi
DHL Aviation operated by AeroLogic	Bahrain, Leipzig/Halle
DHL Aviation operated by DHL Air UK	Cincinnati, Lagos, Leipzig/Halle
DHL Aviation operated by EAT Leipzig	Bergamo, Budapest, Copenhagen, East Midlands, Leipzig/Halle, Lisbon, London-Heathrow, Vitoria
DHL Aviation operated by Kalitta Air	Bahrain, Cincinnati, Leipzig/Halle
DHL Aviation operated by Swiftair	Barcelona, Bratislava, Madrid
Emirates SkyCargo	Chicago-O'Hare, Dubai-Al Maktoum
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo	Addis Ababa, Dubai-Al Maktoum, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, New York-JFK, Shanghai[42]
Etihad Cargo	Abu Dhabi
Finnair Cargo operated by EAT Leipzig	Helsinki
KF Cargo	Charter: Moncton, Toronto
Qatar Airways Cargo	Doha, Entebbe, Nairobi, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca
Saudia Cargo	Dammam, Jeddah, Milan-Malpensa, Riyadh, Vienna
Singapore Airlines Cargo	Bangalore, Chennai, Chicago-O'Hare, Copenhagen, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Sharjah, Singapore
Yangtze River Express	Chicago-O'Hare, Munich

Statistics

Routes

Busiest European routes from Brussels Airport^[43]

Rank	Destination	Airport(s)	Passengers 2014	Passengers 2015	Top carriers
1	Barcelona	BCN	813,574	862,165	Brussels Airlines, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, Vueling
2	Madrid	MAD	738,203	805,092	Air Europa, Brussels Airlines, Iberia
3	Rome	FCO	722,229	793,605	Alitalia, Brussels Airlines, Ryanair, Vueling
4	Lisbon	LIS	664,092	725,839	Brussels Airlines, Ryanair, TAP Portugal, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, Vueling
5	London	LHR, LGW	673,448	723,081	British Airways, Brussels Airlines, easyJet
6	Geneva	GVA	557,364	570,261	Brussels Airlines, easyJet Switzerland
7	Milan	MXP, LIN	511,313	542,962	Alitalia, Brussels Airlines, easyJet
8	Frankfurt	FRA	472,400	517,941	Lufthansa
9	Berlin	TXL, SXF	438,626	510,143	Brussels Airlines, easyJet, Ryanair
10	Istanbul	IST, SAW	498,424	487,177	Turkish Airlines

Busiest Intercontinental routes from Brussels Airport^[43]

Rank	Destination	Airport(s)	Passengers 2014	Passengers 2015	Top carriers
1	New York City	JFK, EWR	593,015	601,314	Brussels Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Jet Airways, United Airlines
2	Tel Aviv	TLV	236,928	289,395	Brussels Airlines, El Al, Jetairfly
3	Washington, D.C.	IAD	226,162	221,855	United Airlines, Brussels Airlines
4	Dubai	DXB	55,022	209,476	Emirates
5	Montréal	YUL	166,295	180,628	Air Canada, Air Transat
6	Abu Dhabi	AUH	171,648	171,407	Etihad Airways
7	Casablanca	CMN	158,149	159,188	Air Arabia Maroc, Royal Air Maroc
8	Mumbai	BOM	162,384	149,287	Jet Airways
9	Toronto	YYZ	155,041	147,761	Jet Airways
10	Doha	DOH	138,939	147,395	Qatar Airways

Traffic

Statistics of the Brussels Airport from 1990 to 2014 incl. passengers, transfer passengers, flights handled and freight (in t).

Traffic by calendar year^{[44][45][46][47]}

Year	Passenger volume	Change over previous year	Aircraft operations	Change over previous year	Cargo (tonnes)	Change over previous year
2015	23,460,018	06.96%	239,349	03.38%	489,303	07.79%
2014	21,933,190	014.60%	231,528	06.90%	453,954	05.60%
2013	19,133,222	00.90%	216,678	03.00%	429,938	06.40%
2012	18,971,332	01.00%	223,431	04.40%	459,265	03.30%
2011	18,786,034	09.30%	233,758	03.60%	475,124	00.20%
2010	17,180,606	01.10%	225,682	02.60%	476,135	06.00%
2009	16,999,154	08.20%	231,668	010.50%	449,132	032.1%
2008	18,515,730	03.40%	258,795	02.10%	661,143	015.60%
2007	17,900,000	07.10%	264,366	03.80%	783,727	08.90%
2006	16,707,892	03.30%	254,772	00.60%	719,561	02.40%
2005	16,179,733	03.50%	253,255	00.30%	702,819	05.80%
2004	15,632,773	02.90%	254,070	00.70%	664,375	09.40%
2003	15,194,097	05.40%	252,249	01.80%	607,136	013.1%
2002	14,410,555	026.8%	256,889	015.9%	536,826	08.00%
2001	19,684,867	09.00%	305,532	06.30%	583,729	015.1%
2000	21,637,003	07.90%	352,972	04.20%	687,385	01.90%
1999	20,048,532	015.7%	312,892	04.30%	674,837	–
1998	18,400,000	015.7%	300,000	08.30%
1997	15,900,000	018.7%	277,000	04.90%
1996	13,400,000	07.20%	264,000	–
1995	12,500,000	011.6%
1994	11,200,000	–
1993	10,000,000+	–
1950	240,000+	–

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.

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. The fare from the airport to the city centre of Brussels is normally around €45. Licensed taxis can be recognized by the blue and yellow emblem.

Rail

Main article: Brussels Airport railway station

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,^[48] just as an Intercity service to Schiphol and Amsterdam.^[49]

Since the new Schuman-Josaphat tunnel^[50] 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.^[51][52][53] However, the line now sees a train every 30 minutes on weekdays.^[54]

Tram

In an attempt to alleviate gridlock around Brussels, the regional transport company De Lijn started the Brabantnet project.^[55] 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 than the already existing railway line.
• The Ring Tram, roughly following the northern side of the Brussels Ring and connecting several Brussels suburbs 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 Ring Tram line could enter in Service as early as 2019. This Trambus solution would be an in-between step until the Tram line is finished.^[56]

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.^[57] This should increase the number of employees commuting by bike, which only stands at 1%.^[58]

Accidents and incidents

The Boeing 747 that overran the runway in 2008

• A serious accident in the vicinity of the airport was the crash of Sabena Flight 548, a Boeing 707 on 15 February 1961. The plane crashed during approach on runway 20, killing all 72 people on board and one on the ground.^[59] 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 Championship in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
• Four aircraft were destroyed on 5 May 2006 when Sabena Technics' hangar 40 burned down. The stricken 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. The five people on board were taken to a hospital with four receiving minor injuries.^[60]
• 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.^[61][62][63]
• On 22 March 2016, as a part of a larger terrorist attack on the city, two bombs exploded at the airport, killing 30 people and injuring at least 230.^[64][65]

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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63. Casert, Raf (19 February 2013). "Smith, Vicky, "The Great Plane Robbery: Gang of Fake Police Officers Steal £32m of Diamonds in Airport Heist," Associated Press, February 19, 2013, 18:49". Worldnews.nbcnews.com.
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65. "17 dead, dozens wounded in 2 blasts at Brussels airport – reports". RT International.

External links

Media related to Brussels Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (English)
• Current weather for EBBR at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for BRU at Aviation Safety Network