aviation - the past, present and future of flight

Feeder  ights were  own into Brussels

from several airports around Europe to

connect to Sabena’s  ights. They were

provided by Delta Air Transport (DAT), using

BAe 146, Fokker F28 Fellowship, Dash 8-300

and Embraer 120 Brasilia regional aircraft.

DAT used a similar livery to Sabena’s; the

airline was later rebranded as DAT Belgian

Airlines.

Sobelair was another Sabena subsidiary

based at Brussels and founded in 1946. It

 ew to holiday destinations on behalf of tour

companies. Operations ceased in 2003.

In 1996, Richard Branson’s Virgin Group

bought EBA EuroBelgian Airlines (formed

in 1991) and its  eet of Boeing 737s. The

business was rebranded as Virgin Express,

an early adopter of the low-cost model, with

its main operating base at Brussels. It  ew to

several city and holiday destinations.

SABENA’S COLLAPSE

The 9/11 terrorist attacks in America on

September 11, 2001 dealt air travel worldwide

a huge blow. Brussels Airport was one of

the  rst to suffer when, two months after the

attacks, Sabena operated its  nal  ight on

November 1.

Swissair was poised to invest more than

€200m in Sabena, but was itself forced into

bankruptcy in October. This in turn was a

major contributing factor to the collapse of the

78-year-old Belgian national airline.

Brussels’ gates were not silent for long.

DAT, under the ownership of SN Airholding,

was able to take control of all of Sabena’s

slots, beginning with a  ight to Geneva on

November 10 using an Avro RJ.

The airline was rebranded as SN Brussels

Airlines in 2002, slowly reinstating routes

across Europe. Yet, as a result, Brussels

Airport’s annual passenger statistics fell from

21,637,003 in 2000 to 14,410,555 in 2002.

SN Airholding merged SN Brussels

Airlines and Virgin Express under the new

name Brussels Airlines after agreeing the

purchase of the latter from Richard Branson

in March 2005. The  rst  ight was on March

25, 2007.

Today, the airline is owned by Lufthansa

and is Brussels Airport’s dominant carrier,

 ying to more than 90 destinations.

Brussels Airport emerged well from the

uncertainties that came about from losing its

principal operator. The airport had already

committed to build a new pier before the

unexpected downturn experienced at the

start of the 2000s. The new structure was

termed Pier A, built remote to the rest of the

terminal in parallel to the existing Pier B, and

alongside Runway 07L/25R. It was linked to

the rest of the terminal via an underground

tunnel.

66 Aviation News incorporating Jets March 2018

Above: Airlines parked at Pier B, which is used for most long-haul and

some low-cost and leisure  ights. Matt Falcus

Above left: Ethiopian Airlines is one of a number of cargo carriers

using Brussels Airport. With a bilateral agreement in place between

Belgium and Ethiopia, the airline can offer direct freight  ights to

destinations such as Dubai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Matt Falcus

Above: Melsbroek Air Base on the north

side of Brussels Airport is home to the

Belgium’s air transport wing, including

these C-130 Hercules. It also plays host to

government, VIP and visiting air force aircraft.

AirTeamImages.com/Wolfgang Mendorf

Brussels Airport in April 2013, with the town

of Zaventem in the foreground. The airport’s

parallel Runways 07L/25R and 07R/25L are

used for most movements, with the third

Runway, 01/19, activated during crosswinds.

Melsbroek military base is in the top centre of

the photo. AirTeamImages.com/Felix Gottwald

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