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Brussels Airport

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{| class="infobox bordered" style="width: 220px; font-size: 95%;" |- ! colspan="4" style="text-align: center; background-color: #4682B4; color: white;" |Brussels International Airport 

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|- !colspan="4" style="text-align: center; background-color: #4682B4; color: white;" |Runways |- !bgcolor="lightgrey" rowspan="2"|Direction !bgcolor="lightgrey" colspan="2"|Length !bgcolor="lightgrey" rowspan="2"|Surface |- !bgcolor="lightgrey"|ft !bgcolor="lightgrey"|m |- !align="left" valign="top"|2/20 |valign="top" align="right"|9,799.87 |valign="top" align="right"|2,987 |valign="top"|Paved |- !align="left" valign="top"|7R/25L |valign="top" align="right"|10,534.78 |valign="top" align="right"|3,211 |valign="top"|Paved |- !align="left" valign="top"|7L/25R |valign="top" align="right"|11,935.7 |valign="top" align="right"|3,638 |valign="top"|Paved

Brussels Airport (Dutch: Luchthaven Zaventem, French: l'Aéroport de Bruxelles), also called Brussels National Airport or Zaventem Airport, is an international airport located in Zaventem, in Flanders, near Brussels, Belgium. The airport is a hub to SN Brussels Airlines, Virgin Express and DHL Aviation.

The airport was created during World War II by the German occupying force. There is an urban legend about the airport creation in Zaventem. According to this legend, the Germans would have built the airport after asking locals what was the best place to build it, and Belgians then would have pointed them this location because they knew it was an often foggy place.

After the German occupation, the Belgian army took control over the airport. When the old civil airport in Haren became too small, it was decided to use the terrains in Zaventem as the new national airport. By 1948, a new terminal building was constructed to replace the old wooden building.

In 1955, a trainline connecting Brussels with the airport was inaugurated by King Baudouin. A direct train link with Leuven and Liège was opened on December 12 2005. A link with Antwerp will be completed in 2010. In April 1957, construction started of the new terminal, preparing the airport for the 1958 World Fair. During the boom of commercial aviation in the 1960's and 1970's, 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 engulfing the demise of Sabena, a new pier was opened. This Pier A is destined to support flights from and to the Schengen treaty countries.

In 2005, the airport served 16.2 million passengers, an increase of 3.5% over 2004. The cargo volume in the same year amounted to 702,819 tonnes, an increase of 5.8% over 2004.

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

Brussels National Airport is operated by Brussels International Airport Company (BIAC), which was created by Belgian law through a merger of BATC with the ground operations departments of the RLW/RVA.

The only serious accident in the vicinity of the airport was the crash of a Sabena Boeing 707 on February 15, 1961. The plane crashed during approach, killing all 72 people on board and one on the ground. [link]

Contents

Passenger Airlines

The following airlines have scheduled services to Brussels (as of May 2006).

Defunct airlines

Defunct airlines with a homebase at Brussels (incomplete list):

See also

External links

 

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