- Airport foundation
- The emergence of a civil air terminal
- Modern history
- Infrastructure
- Passenger services
- How to get from the airport to the city
The largest air hub in Belgium, which is recognized as the 21st in terms of the number of passengers served in Europe, is located partly in the town of Zaventem, and partly in Diegem, an area of the city of Mechelen. This is Brussels airport, which is also called Brussels-Zaventem. It is located just 11 km from the Belgian capital.
In 2005, this airport was recognized as the best in Europe. This opinion was expressed by thousands of interviewed passengers around the world. In 2006, Belgium's main airport received an intriguing new name. From now on, it is officially called “Brussels Airport. Welcome to Europe. Brussels Airport Company NV / SA, formerly known as Brussels International Airport Company, is responsible for the well-coordinated work of all airport services.
The airport has offices of 260 companies, employing about 20 thousand people.
Airport foundation
The main airport in Belgium was founded not by the Belgians, but by the German occupiers in 1940. They demanded from the Belgian authorities to allocate 600 hectares of agricultural land, which was supposed to be used as a reserve airfield. In this section, the Luftwaffe built 3 runways in the shape of a triangle. Two of them are still in use. The airport building was erected in the neighboring municipality of Melsbrook, and not in Zeventem, so the airport became known as Melsbrook. There is a local legend that the residents of nearby towns indicated to the Germans the place where the airport could be built. There was always a fog here, and the Belgians wanted to annoy the Nazis in this way.
After the liberation of Belgium on September 3, 1944, the German airport at Melsbruck fell into British hands. When the old civil airport in Haren became too small for the increasing number of passengers who wanted to use air transport every year, the Belgian authorities decided to rebuild the airport in Melsbrook into a new international airport. By 1948, the old wooden buildings of the airport were demolished. In their place, a spacious new terminal building appeared. In the same year, the lengths of the two runways were increased to 1200 and 2450 meters. The length of the third strip remained unchanged at 1300 meters.
The emergence of a civil air terminal
Melsbrook Civil Airport was officially opened by Prince Regent Charles, Earl of Flanders, on 20 July 1948. From 1948 to 1956, the airport complex was expanded. New buildings appeared mainly on the territory of Melsbrook municipality. In 1955, a railway was built connecting the center of Brussels with the airport. From now on, getting to the airport has become much more convenient and faster, which has increased the popularity of air travel among residents of the capital. The railway track was opened by King Baudouin on May 15, 1955.
The following year, the airport had a new 2300-meter runway that ran parallel to the longest runway. It is still used today. Its length was subsequently increased to 3200 meters.
In April 1956, the Belgian authorities decided to completely re-equip the airport. It was decided to move the entire infrastructure to the Zaventem commune. The runways remained the same. In April of the following year, construction began on a new terminal, which was planned to open for the 1958 World's Fair. The airport buildings in the municipality of Melsbrook are currently owned by the Belgian Air Force. These buildings are now known as Melsbrook Airfield. Both airports - Zaventem and Melsbrook Air Base - share the same runways.
Modern history
During the active development of commercial aviation in the 1960s and 1970s, several spacious hangars were built at the Brussels airport. In 1976, the building complex was expanded with the construction of a cargo terminal. In 1994, a new one was erected next to the old passenger terminal.
In 2002, the national carrier of Belgium "Sabena", which was based at Brussels airport, went bankrupt. The closure of this company led to a sharp decrease in passenger traffic at Brussels airport. The airport is only now gradually recovering from this shock.
On December 12, 2005, a railway was laid from the airport near Brussels to Leuven and Liege. Now passengers arriving on vacation or on business in these Belgian cities could follow to their destination, bypassing the Brussels train stations.
In 2007, the airport handled 17.8 million passengers, which is 7% more than in 2006. In 2008, the airport has already received 18.5 million passengers. And the number of passengers arriving and departing from Brussels continues to increase every year. Since 2012, Brussels Airport has consistently featured in the lists of the best airports in the world.
The presence of a large airport near residential buildings always causes discontent among local residents. Thus, the governments of Flanders and the Brussels region cannot agree among themselves on the routes of night flights: the noise from planes taking off disturbs everyone. According to an unofficial study, Brussels Airport is the busiest airport out of 30 surveyed European terminals.
On March 22, 2016, two explosions occurred at the Brussels airport. One bomb was detonated near the offices of Brussels Airlines and American Airlines, the other near the Starbucks cafe. The third bomb, planted at the airport, was discovered before it detonated. The sappers also blew it up, but no one was hurt. After the attacks, the airport was closed until April 3. All flights were redirected to nearby airports.
Infrastructure
During the construction of the Brussels airport complex, the idea of one terminal was brought to life. This means that all airport services, arrivals and departures halls, numerous shops and restaurants are located under one roof.
The terminal building consists of several levels:
- minus 1st floor. There is a railway station here. This is where the trains to Brussels leave;
- 0 floor. On it you can find a bus station and a taxi rank;
- 1st floor. There is an airport lobby with check-in counters and some shops;
- 2nd floor. All passengers arriving in Belgium leave the plane on this floor. Here, in the arrival halls, passport control works;
- The 3rd floor is occupied by the departure halls. You can also find an information center here.
Levels 2 and 3 are connected to two airport piers, marked on all maps with the letters A and B.
Pier A was opened not so long ago - on May 15, 2002. It was built to serve flights to the Schengen countries, but since October 15, 2008, Brussels Airlines, connecting Belgium and African countries, have also been accommodated here. Therefore, a border control point appeared here, as a result of which gates A61-72 were renamed T61-72. Then the daily Brussels Airlines flight Brussels-New York was moved here from pier B.
Until March 26, 2015, pier A could be reached through a tunnel 400 meters long. This corridor has now been replaced by a new building called the Connector.
Pier B is the oldest pier at Brussels Airport and is regularly used for flights to countries outside the Schengen area.
Passenger services
Shops, bars and restaurants can be found throughout the airport building. In the departure area there are several shopping pavilions occupied by souvenir shops, a pharmacy and a cafe. Most duty free boutiques are located just behind the security checkpoints. Here you can buy watches from famous brands, jewelry with precious stones, fashion accessories (bags, gloves, sunglasses), books, newspapers and magazines from all over the world, souvenirs in memory of Belgium.
We also took care of believers at the airport. There are prayer rooms for Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Protestants. There are also places for meditation where people of other faiths can retire.
There is a conference hall for businessmen at the airport of Brussels. The airport can also host congresses for up to 600 people, providing their participants with everything they need. Meeting space is offered by the Regus Skyport Convention Center and the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel, which is the only hotel located on the airport grounds. In the immediate vicinity of the airport, there are 14 hotels that are so interested in guests that they provide a transfer service for passengers arriving in the capital of Belgium.
How to get from the airport to the city
Several car rental companies are located right at the airport. Car rental can be arranged right upon arrival. From the airport there is the A201 road, which is connected to the Brussels ring road. The city is also easily accessible by taxi. Licensed vehicles are marked with a blue and yellow emblem.
To Brussels and the cities of Flanders from Zaventem Airport (platforms A, B and C), they want large, comfortable buses. From platform E, small minibuses depart, taking passengers to hotels near the airport.
Most residents and visitors of Brussels travel to the city center by train. The railway station is located underground under the airport building. Direct trains run from here to Antwerp, Brussels, De Panne, Ghent, Hasselt, Leuven, Mechelen, Nivelles and some other cities. At intervals of a quarter of an hour, trains leave from the airport to Brussels South Railway Station, where you can change to an international train going to European countries.
