During
the night of 18 July 2018 the hangar of the Aeroclub van Brasschaat was
completely destroyed by fire.
Almost three years later the construction of a new hangar has started. We
presume it will be finished in the coming weeks. |
 As
the restriction on non-essential travel is coming to an end on April 19th, TUI
is planning to start flying out of Antwerp as from April 20th.
The company will fly twice weekly to Malaga (TUE&SAT), Alicante(WAD&SUN),
Ibiza(MON&FRI), Mallorca (THU&SUN) and Murcia (WED&SAT).
On June 18th, a new destination will be added : Avignon which will be flown on
Monday and Friday. |
NHV
Group today announced a new contract with PSE Kinsale Energy Ltd in support of
its decommissioning operations in the Celtic Sea.
_small.jpg) The
transfer flights towards the Stena Spey drilling rig, about 50 km off the south
coast of Cork, are expected to start in April 2021 for a duration of six to
eight months. NHV AS Denmark, NHV’s Danish branch, will be performing the
contract. The agreement facilitates the provision of one dedicated Leonardo
AW139 aircraft. |
 Under
the current Covid-19 restrictions flight training was limited to student-pilots
working towards a CPL/ATPL licence.
Under the revised rules implemented from 08 March 2021 flight-training for
student-pilots working towards a PPL licence is possible again. But only for
student-pilots who started their flight training before the start of the
pandemic
If we understand the new regulations correct, flight training for new students
is still prohibited. |
 NHV
Group today announced a new contract with Allseas to provide helicopter services
in support of the Energinet Europipe II Branch Pipeline project. The weekly H175
flights will depart from NHV’s base in Esbjerg. |
Yesterday the Morocco Health Secretary decided to immediately stop all
flights between Morocco and Belgium. The reason is, as always, the Covid 19
pandemic.
There will be no services between the two countries till, at least, 21 March. |
Brussels Airlines is slowly expanding its flight for holidaymakers
• 78 destinations for the summer time-table
• Focus on holiday destinations
• Start of the Brussel-Frankfurt service
• All tariffs remain flexible
As it is expected that demand for summer voyages will rise over the coming
months, Brussels Airlines wants to offer its customers interesting holiday
destinations. |
Last
year JMB Aircraft won the Fliegermagazine award for ‘Best 600 kg UL Ultralight
Plane’. This year the company is nominated again, this time for ‘Best New Ultralight’.
The Fliegermagazine award is organised for the tenth time this year.
 |
|
After
almost 2 years on the ground, Boeing 737Max – OO-MAX - is the first TUI Fly
aircraft that returned to service today. The aircraft left Brussels airport this
morning for a flight to Alicante. During the previous days the company flew some
‘operational readiness flights’ in order to prepare the aircraft and crew for
the return to service. These flights lasted about one hour including approaches
on order to test the manual and automatic landings. |
 This
year too skeyes is looking for new air traffic controllers. Candidates can
register for the recruitment procedure from 15 February to 14 March 2021. It
consists of five stages. Only those who pass each stage separately will move on
to the next stage. Those who pass the entire process can start the training on 1
September 2021 to become an air traffic controller.
Candidates must hold a secondary education diploma, be less than 30 years old on
the closing date for registration and be 18 years old on 1 September 2021. |
|
It
seems Air Belgium will cooperate with the French CMA CGM Group to start up a
cargo operation. CMA CGM acquired two Airbus A.330 freighter that will be
operated by Air Belgium. Air Belgium itself will acquire an additional two
aircraft. All aircraft are former Qatar Airways machines. So the company intends
to start operations with four aircraft on routes from Europe to China. |
Air
Belgium just announced the intention to start full cargo operations from Liège/Bierset
airport using Airbus A.330 aircraft. The company plans to start operations with
two aircraft as early as next month.
It is not clear if their is any connection with the announcement from Fedex that
it will downsize operations at Liège airport. Air Belgium CEO Terzakis was,
years ago, instrumental in the start of TNT Airways operations at Liège airport.
So, this link certainly exists ! |
 Flyinggroup
recently signed an FBO agreement with Jet Aviation. Jet Aviation will support
Flyinggroup aircraft with handling services on flights throughout Europe, the
Middle East and Asia.
(source : Business Air News) |
|
Flight
training is allowed again as is training to obtain a car driving licence. For
flight training some restrictions are still in use. The Belgian C.A.A. agreed to
allow all training. But the Covid-19 expert group, who advise the Federal
Government, suggested to limit flight training to student pilots working towards
a Commercial Pilot Licence. So, all training flights for students hoping to
obtain a PPL (Private Pilot Licence) are still prohibited at his moment. |
 During
Februart and March Brussels Airlines will cancel up to 900 flights. The reason
is simple, a lack of passengers.
Some destinations as Barcelona, Göteborg, Rome and Wien will not be serviced
during these two months. Several other cities will be serviced with a reduced
number of flights. During February the company will only fly 7% of the flights
offered in the same month last year. For March 12% of the flights are still
planned.
The company fears that possible government restrictions on non-essential
travelling may have an additional impact.
All flights to African destinations remain on the planning. |
The
two previous years were difficult for Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (N.H.V.)
due to the reduced workload for the oil and gas business and the Covid-19
pandemic
The company recently finalised and agreement with major shareholder Ardian and
several banks. The company will also continue with the optimalisation of its
fleet.
A long standing dispute with N.H.V. founder E. Van Hal was also solved.
(source : De Tijd) |
After
more than 22 months on the ground, the four Belgian registered Boeing 737MAX can
return to service in the coming days. Normally the European Aviation Authority
EASA will allow the return into service next week. The aircraft were grounded on
12 March 2019 as a result of a worldwide ban on this type after a second fatal
crash.
Four TUI Belgium aircraft are since parked at Brussels Airport. We suppose that
the aircraft will need some maintenance and checks before returning to service.
The fact that these aircraft have been inactive for such a long period
‘disappeared’ in the massive turn-down as a result of Covid-19. |
During
the pandemic year of 2020 only 88.036 passengers passed through Antwerp Airport.
Compared to the 306.330 in 2019 this is a decrease of 71,3%.
There was also a decrease of 34% in businessflights. |
Delta
Air Lines will fly a full freighter regular service between Brussels airport and
Detroit starting on 18 January. Initially there will be two weekly services
operated with Airbus A.330 aircraft. From February three weekly flights are
planned.
Cargo will included Covid-19 vaccines produced in Belgium as well as medical
equipment, pharmaceuticals and US mail. |
 Air
Antwerp initially intended to restart the Antwerpen to London City service on 3
January 2021. The company now announced that they will only start flying from 1st
March 2021. The actual Covid situation with a new lockdown in London and
quarantine and PCR test for travelers makes it almost impossible to travel
between these two destinations
The sole Air Antwerp Fokker 50 remains available for charter. |
Ultralight
Concept, the company designed and builds the Stampe SV.4RS Ultralight recently
changed their name. They now are Tauri Industries.
This change is almost certainly the result of the entry of a new shareholder who
provided ‘fresh money’ to the company. |
Today,
17 December, just before noon, Spitfire Mk.IX – G-IRTY – arrived at Antwerp
Airport after a flight from Goodwood (UK).
This iconic machine was used last year for an around-the-world flight. It left
Goodwood on 5 August 2019 an arrived back home on 5 December 2019 making 74
flights !
 The
aircraft was obtained from the Aviodome at Amsterdam by Historic Flying/Karel
Bos several years ago and restored to flying condition by Historic Flying at
Duxford. It flies all silver – an unusual scheme for a Spitfire !
From Antwerp airport the aircraft continues to Billund (Denmark)
(Photo's Bob Rongé) |
 During
November 2020 only 233.528 passengers passed through Brussels Airport (-
88.30%). 117.253 where departing (-87.90%) and 116.275 arriving (-88.70%)
Movements during November 2020 went down with 70.70% from 18.063 to only 5.299.
Full freighter cargo went up again with more than 23% tp 16.229 tons. Belly
freight went down from 11.945 tons to 6.802 tons (-43.10%)
Based on the current Covid-19 situation in our country and the rest of the world
these figures will not improve in the coming months. Recently United Airlines
announced that it will stop the Brussel to Chicago service from Christmas Day,
25 December 2020 due to the low number of passengers! |
Today
SABCA has its 100th anniversary. Due to corona the festivities have been
postponed to next year.
This morning a press conference was given by Sabca CEO Dr. Ir Thibaud Jongen,
VKI (von Karman Instituut) Manager Director Peter Grognard and the new
DGLV (Directoraat-Generaal Luchtvaart) Directeur-generaal Koen Milis.
Sabca CEO presented two new books on this occasion. |
_small.jpg) NHV
Group today announced the sale of its remaining H155 aircraft to HeliGlobe
(Denmark). The brokerage company entered into the agreement on behalf of their
client Air Greenland. The six aircraft will be delivered over a period of six
months starting in the first quarter of next year. “This phasing-out project is
part of NHV’s ongoing fleet rationalization strategy. Whilst they have always
served us well as we have grown our business and developed new markets, the time
is right to give them a new purpose. “The company has been actively managing its
fleet by renewing older aircraft with newer technology aircraft, while also
reducing the number of fleet types the company operates for oil and gas.
Replacing older aircraft with newer technology aircraft provides greater
efficiencies, more capabilities and improved reliability for clients, and is
central to NHV’s long-term success,” added Thomas Hütsch, COO of the NHV Group.
NHV Group currently operates a standardized fleet of sixty-four aircraft. The
company has recently invested in highly advanced Airbus H175, H145, Leonardo
AW169 and AW139 aircraft to support new contracts. |
Last
Tuesday Dassault Aviation rolled out the first Falcon 6X bizjet. Sabca
participates in this program. The Brussels plant produces a 4.500 liter fueltank.
The Lummen plant is responsible for the production of composite parts for the
tail.
The Sabca division in Casablanca (Marocco) delivers parts for the aircraft
fuselage.
First flight of the Falcon 6X is planned for 2021. First deliveries a year
later. |
|
In
November, 233,528 passengers passed through Brussels Airport, representing
barely 12% year-on-year. The numerous travel restrictions continue to weaken a
sector which is hoping to make a small recovery over the Christmas holidays. Air
freight, meanwhile, is on the rise for the sixth month running. The airport is
playing a major role in transporting COVID-19 vaccines worldwide. |
 During
November Oostende airport handled 3.917 tonnes of air freight. An increase of
66.20% compared to the same month last year. The total number of freight handled
this year rose with 140 % compared to 2019.
Only 1.854 passengers used Oostende airport during November, a decline with 93%.
This number is unlikely to rise in the coming weeks as TUI Fly decided to
temporarily suspend all operations at the regional airports until February 2021. |
 In
order to accommodate the new Airbus A.400M transport aircraft the Belgian
Defence Cabinet opened a DBFM (Design, Build, Finance, Maintain) contract for
the construction of a new hangar. This construction must accommodate three
aircraft. The realisation of this hangar is planned for June 2021 and is
realised by AG Real Estate, a company linked to AG insurance.
The hangar will be about 185 meters long and 75 meters width. This is about the
size of two football fields. It will have an height of about 30 meters.
Defence will launch a second DBFM contract for the total renovation of the
existing buildings and hangars at Melsbroek AFB. |
United
Airlines started operating extra charter flights between Brussels Airport and
Chicago transporting the Covid-19 vaccin produced by Pfizer in their Belgian
facility. The F.A.A. gave an exemption to United Airlines to carry up to five
times the volume of ‘dry ice’ than normally allowed. The volume of ice needed to
transport the vaccin may be up to 7.5 tons per flight !
Brussels Airport is very well prepared for this type of transport. Brucargo has
up to 30.000 m² of temperature controlled storage facilities and it has a lot of
expertise in handling this type of cargo based on transport of the Ebola-vaccin
in the past. |
 Historic
and symbolic day for Liege Airport: the milestone of 1 million tonnes
transported was reached with the landing of a plane from the Russian company
Airbridge Cargo chartered by the Chinese company HongYuan and handled by the
French company WFS and the Belgian company Belgium Airport Services (BAS). This
international logistics chain is a fine example of the development of Liege
Airport. |
 The
traffic figures for week 47 (16 – 23 November 2020) show a continuing decline -
5.2% down on the previous week and nearly 64% down on 2019.
source : eurocontrol |
On
Saturday 21.11.20, a professional team was busy cleaning an impressive Wright
R.3350 Cyclone Turbo Compound engine and propeller in front of a Flying Group
hangar at Antwerp Airport. This 18 cylinder engine, delivering 2.500 hp, comes
from a former Dutch Navy aircraft and was part of the Richard van As legacy. It
was stored in his hangar at Midden Zeeland and auctioned some months ago.
We presume it will become an eye-catcher in the new, totally renovated, Flying
Group headquarters at Antwerp Airport. |
The
airport counted 312.556 passengers. This number is 86.50% lower than the same
month last year and also lower than the previous month September 2020, when
379.303 passengers used Brussels airport.
Movements are 66.50% down compared to last year (6.900 versus 20.622)
During Oktober total flown cargo was 49.709 tons or 17.10% more than in Oktober
2019. Full freighter cargo went up with 114.40% to 19.468 tons. |
|
Cathay
Pacific will not restart the service from Hong-Kong to Brussel. This service,
flown with Airbus A.350 aircraft, was started early 2018 and stopped in March
2020 as a result of the lockdown in our country at that moment. The company now
decided to cancel seven long-haul services including the flight to Brussels. |
Due
to the corona pandemic, TUI has decided to put all its flights from Antwerp,
Ostend and Liège airport on hold till Februari 11th, 2021. Although these
regional airports are an important part of the network, the company now needs to
optimise its flights and therefor concentrates on Brussels and Charleroi. |
This
year, the 36th Air Cargo News Awards was held in London and, exceptionally, was
broadcast as a video conference on account of the Covid-19 crisis. On this
occasion, 13 companies received a trophy corresponding to the category in which
they were competing.
In the category ‘Best Cargo Hub of the Year’, Liege Airport was nominated
alongside major participants: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Anchorage
International Airport (USA), Brussels Airport Company and Hong Kong
International Airport.
Despite the fame of these airports, the award was in fact given to Liege
Airport! This prize is based on an inquiry during which several performance
indicators are measured and compared. This international recognition is the
result of a successful bold strategy focussed on cargo, diversification and
innovation. |
Today,
Flying Group presented their renovated, energy-neutral, headquarters at Antwerp
Airport to the media. Founder and president of the board Bernard Van Milders and
CEO Johan Van Lokeren gave more info about the future of the group and the
impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the company and its operations. They also
launched the new website and adapted logo under the new baseline ‘Destined to
Delight’!
More info in the next issue of our magazine Aeronews of Belgium |
|
Yesterday,
22 October, the Turkish flying school Ayjet lost one of their Sonaca 201
aircraft in an accident. TC-UUG, the former OO-XSH, was destroyed in a failed
landing at Istanbul/Hezarfen airport. The sole occupant, a student-pilot, was
injured but died the day after.
 |
During
September 2020 the airport handled 379.303 passengers (-84.80%).
Movements went down with 66.80% (7.141 versus 21.533). But cargo flights rose
with almost 40% (1.644 versus 1.175). The volume of cargo flown from or to
Brussels airport went up from 39.394 tons to 46.832 tons. Full freighter volumes
even rose with 88.80% (17.498 versus 9.270). The cargo transported as belly
cargo on passenger flights went down with almost 50%. |
|
Airbus
A.340 - OO-ADB – left Charleroi/Brussels South airport for Tarbes (France) on
19.10.20. Together with OO-ABE it will be stored. Both airframes are looked
after by TARMAC (Tarbes Advanced Recycling and Maintenance Aircraft Company) a
company that specialises in long-term storage of airliners. |
 The Swiss Air Force has certified the Sonaca 200 Trainer Pro for the
initial aptitude assessment programme called“SPHAIR”.
The objective of the SPHAIR programme is to discover and assess young talents
for a career as a pilot in the Swiss Air Force or general aviation
To obtain SPHAIR certification, the Sonaca 200 has undergone a thorough
assessment on the ground and in flight.
“The Sonaca 200 flies smoothly and precisely. The aircraft is very stable at all
flight attitudes and in all speed ranges. It benefits from very good visibility
and comfortable seats. The plane also has a significant endurance of nearly
seven hours with two people on board” .SPHAIR. |
|
Initially
Air Belgium intended to start a service from Charleroi/Brussels South airport to
Mauritius on 15 December. Now the company announced that this service will start
on 30 March 2021 at the earliest. |
Today Sonaca announced the sale of two Sonaca 200 aircraft to Motorfluggruppe
Zurich (Aeroclub and Flying School)
"We have chosen the Sonaca 200 because it is a robust and easy to repair
trainer aircraft that can be flown even by people of different sizes. With a
payload of 270 kg and very good endurance, the Sonaca 200 is an excellent
aircraft for basic training. It is also certified for night flights. At the same
time, our MFGZ maintenance center will expand its service offering and offer
maintenance for Sonaca 200 aircraft and Rotax engines" Andreas Carl, Head of
Operations, Motorfluggruppe Zurich (MFGZ, Switzerland).
"We are very pleased that Motorfluggruppe Zurich has selected the Sonaca 200
after a rigorous and thorough comparative study. The Sonaca 200, a certified
two-seater developed in close collaboration with the field, is an aircraft that
is perfectly suited for ab-initio training, but also for navigation because of
its payload and autonomy" Pierre Van Wetter, Chief Commercial Officer Sonaca
Aircraft.
Delivery of the two Sonaca 200 Trainer Pro aircraft is scheduled for July 2021. |
Last
month Ukraine International Airlines announced the restart of the Kiev to
Brussel service as from October 1st.
Now the company announced that this service will only restart on October 24th at
the earliest. The very low number of tickets sold seems to be the reason. |
Brussels
Airport introduced several measures in order to reduce the health-risk of the
airport passengers as much as possible.
The airport works within the recommendations issued by the ICAO and EASA/ECDC.
Brussels Airport got congratulations for their work regarding physical
distancing, protection for the employees, cleaning and measures regarding ‘food
& beverage’ as well as their communication.
This accreditation is valid during the coming 12 months
|
Eurocontrol
still gives very interesting insights into traffic numbers over Belgium.
Yesterday 29.09.20 462 flights (arrivals/departures) were counted, compared to
2.019 flights on the same day in 2019. (= - 56,9 %) Brussels airport counted 210
flights, 138 operated from Liège/Bierset and 66 from Charleroi. On 01.09.20 this
numbers were 49,3 % less than on the same day the previous year. So, during
September, the situation did not improve at all ! (source : Eurocontrol)
|
|
Recently
Air Antwerp restarted the Antwerpen to London/City service. Due to the very low
frequency of the flights offered (4 return-flights per week) there is room for
more activity. Via broker Aviation Factory/Vizion Air the aircraft is now also
available for charter flights. |
|
As
from 1 oktober, Ukraine International Airlines will resume the regular service
connecting Kiev with Brussel. Three flights per week are offered (Monday,
Wednesday and Friday) |
ASL
recently announced that their biz jet fleet will grow with 8 additional
aircraft. Most of them are already known to us, but there still are some other
aircraft that will arrive in the near future. This includes a second Embraer
Legacy 500 and a new Pilatus PC.12NG. The eight aircraft are 1 Falcon 7X and 1
Embraer Legacy 600 based at Eindhoven. 2 Embraer Legacy 500’s based at Kortrijk
and Antwerpen. A single Cessna 680 based at Bucharest. 2 Cessna 510 Mustangs and
a Pilatus PC.12NG all based at Antwerpen.
The ASL Group now has more than 40 aircraft in operation. |
During
August 2020 a total of 12.415 passengers passed though the airport. Still 62.8%
less than in the same month last year. The impact of the Covid 19 pandemic in
Spain is a negative factor for the airport. All TUI Fly flights to destinations
in Spain are cancelled till 22 September 2020.
Movements went down with 22%. Also the number of business flights is lower than
in the same month last year. |
Brussels
Airlines plans to operate the following long-haul flights with their Airbus
A.330 aircraft. This schedule should be correct for September and October 2020.
Brussels – Accra 2 weekly (eff 11SEP20)
Brussels – Banjul – Dakar – Brussels 1 weekly
Brussels – Bujumbura – Entebbe 1 weekly
Brussels – Cotonou – Abidjan – Brussels 2 weekly (3 weekly from 12SEP20)
Brussels – Dakar 3 weekly (2 weekly from 07SEP20)
Brussels – Douala – Yaounde 3 weekly
Brussels – Entebbe – Kigali 2 weekly
Brussels – Freetown – Dakar – Brussels 1 weekly (2 weekly from 13SEP20)
Brussels – Kinshasa 3 weekly (4 weekly from 30SEP20)
Brussels – Lome – Abidjan – Brussels 2 weekly
Brussels – Monrovia – Abidjan – Brussels 2 weekly
Brussels – New York JFK 3 weekly (eff 01OCT20)
(source: routesonline) |
TUI
plans the following routes from Antwerp during september 2020
Antwerp – Alicante 3 weekly
Antwerp – Corvera 2 weekly
Antwerp – Ibiza (eff 25SEP20) 2 weekly
Antwerp – Malaga 3 weekly
Antwerp – Palma Mallorca (eff 24SEP20) 2 weekly
Antwerp – Split (eff 25SEP20) 1 weekly
(source : routesonline) |
|
Initially
Thai Airways intended to restart the Bangkok to Brussels service on 2th Oktober.
The company now announced that all flights still 31 Oktober are cancelled. |
During
July 2020 the airport handled 525.022 passengers, still almost 81% less than the
some month last year. Movements are still down with 63.70% (8.201 comparted to
22.599)
Only the cargo flown in and out Brussels Airport remains healthy with a 9,90%
rise compared to July 2019 |
|
Last
week United Airlines restarted flights from Brussels Airport to Chicago and New
York/Newark. At this moment the company offers 4 flights to Chicago (Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) and 3 to Newark (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday).
All flights are flown with Boeing 787 aircraft. |
60
people will lose their job at Brussels Airlines as a result of the restructuring
announced some months ago. There will be no redundancies for pilots and flight
attendants.
The number of people that lose their job is limited because almost 300 people
choose to leave the company on a voluntary basis and another 150 go into (early)
retirement. Finally 100 workers will continue to work on a part-time basis. |
Eurocontrol
gives very interesting insights into the airline traffic over Europe. When
comparing Monday 06 July with Monday 20 July 2020 traffic went up with 6% in
Belgium. On that day there were 511 arrivals and departures from Belgian
airports.
When looking at general figures, flights over Europe are 63% down compared to
July 2019. Airlines are 70% down. Biz-aviation is recovering a lot faster with
only 13% less than a year ago. Bizjet traffic represents 14% of the total
traffic. Cargo-flights are on the same level as a year ago.
(source : Eurocontrol) |
|
Minister
De Croo announced the signing of an agreement that will result in a U.S.
immigration pre clearance procedure at Brussels Airport. This will ease entry
into the U.S.A. considerably and will give Brussels Airport a major advantage.
U.S. immigration officers will be based at Brussels Airport in order to perform
their activities. Until now this procedure only exist if you fly from Ireland
(Dublin or Shannon) to the U.S.A. |
NHV
Group is pleased to announce that its H175 fleet surpassed its first 40,000
flight hours. This significant milestone proves this super-medium-sized
rotorcraft’s capabilities and reliability in highly demanding operations,
especially the transportation of personnel and supplies to offshore oil and gas
platforms. At present the worldwide H175 fleet has accumulated over 66,000
flight hours, of which NHV thus accounted for more than 60%. The 40,000 hours
have been accumulated by NHV’s fleet of thirteen H175s. NHV was the global
launching customer fort he H175.
 The
first two aircraft entered into service in December 2014. Initially operated
from Den Helder, NHV gradually expanded its H175 operations to other bases in
the North Sea and West Africa, where the aircraft has accumulated experience and
gained maturity.
(photo Bob Rongé) |
Today,
15 July, Air Belgium flight KF5961 will depart to Fort-de-France and Pointe-à-Pitre
from Charleroi/Brussels South airport
Adult passengers and children older than 11 years must precent a PCR test
carried out within 72 hours before departure. If not they will be denied
boarding |
Liège
Airport remained very active during the whole Cobid 19 pandemic with a lot of
freight traffic.
But passenger traffic came to a complete standstill since 20 March 2020. Now the
airport announced that they intend to resume passenger flights on Friday 17
July. TUI will restart its operations and offers 11 destinations in 4 countries
(Spain, Turley, Greece and Morocco)
(source Liège Airport) |
|
Lufthansa
Group intends to launch a holiday service from Frankfurt to Windhoek from the
end of September 2020. Lufthansa will increasingly focus on tourist routes and,
therefore, it has now founded a new company under the name “Ocean” that is to be
used for precisely those holiday flights, by merging subsidiaries in order to
save costs. However, Ocean is not a new subsidiary airline, but only a flight
operation with an “Air Operator Certificate” (AOC) licence. You will never see
any aircraft in a new “Ocean” livery in the future. This service will be
operated by Brussels Airlines on behalf of Eurowings using an airbus A.330-300.
At this moment there is still a ban on flights into Namibia imposed by the local
government. |
Today
TUI restarted its flights from Antwerp Airport after the abrupt stop due to the
Covid 19 pandemic in mid March. Today Embraer Emb.190 OO-JEM performed the first
service to Split as ‘Beauty27G’.
(photo : Hugo De Backer) |
His
Majesty King Philippe of the Belgians paid a visit to Liege
Airport to thank the staff and key partners for their efforts in enabling the
efficient distribution of
medical supplies to Belgium and across Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic, and
the vital role of
logistics to support Belgium and Europe’s economic recovery. During his visit,
King Philippe
participated in a roundtable discussion with representatives of key partners of
Liege Airport,
including Alibaba Group. The King expressed warm appreciation for the efficient
distribution and
logistics capabilities of Alibaba’s eWTP Hub and Liege Airport. |
 Lowcost
carrier Ryanair intends to fire 44 pilots and 40 cabin crew, all Belgian based
personnel. This is, almost certainly, a result of the lower number of flights
the company operates from Brussels and Charleroi/Brussels South airports. |
|
Initially
Thai Airways announced a restart of the scheduled flights into Brussels for 2th
August 2020. Now the company postponed this untill 1th September. At that moment
they will offer 3 flights per week (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday) |
Passenger
numbers were still 96.10% down compared to June 2019. Only 1.871 passengers
passed throught the gates.
For the second quarter 2.791 passengers where counted compared to 192.419 last
year (minus 97.80%)
The cargo volume rose to a record 5.666 tonnes, an increase with more than 165%
compared to June 2019. During the first quarter of 2020 the airport handled
15.065 tonnes (+ 178%). This number is already higher than the total volume
handled during 2019. |
During
June 2020 only 2.894 passengers used Antwerp Airport. 91% less than a year ago.
Business aviation already showed more activity than during the previous months.
TUI Fly will restart its activities on 10 July with flights to Split and Ibiza. |
Number
of passengers to exceed the 10,000 mark on the July 1st.
Tomorrow will see the official start of the summer holidays. Since the restart
of non-essential travels within Europe on the 15th of June and as more countries
reopened their borders, Brussels Airport has been adding more destinations to
its network every week. At the start of the holidays, more than 100, mainly
European, destinations will be served. By the beginning of August, this offer
shall have increased to 140 destinations. France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and
Italy are some of the flagship countries that look forward to welcoming
holidaymakers. |
LVL320
Crew training is a subsidiary of Skywings Flight Training, located at Antwerp
airport. LVL320 focuses on crew training solutions such as MCC and APS MCC for
flight schools and on skill care and screening preparation for qualified Airbus
pilots. All the training will be provided on their brand-new static Airbus A320
type-specific MCC simulator.
 LVL320
hopes to attract flight schools from all over Europe as a partner for the
multi-crew training part of a professional pilot training.
Students are coached by Airbus rated and qualified instructors. |
Last
Sunday, 21st June 2020, a FlyingGroup Falcon 900 landed safely at Cologne Bonn
airport after a flight from Haiti.
On board were 10 orphaned children from Haiti that will live with their adoptive
parents in Europe.
‘Help A Child’, the adoption agency that chartered the flight ran into numerous
delays and disappointments. But FlyingGroup accepted this complex mission and
finalized it with great success. For this flight the aircraft was crewed by
three pilots and a flight attendant. |
 Alyzia
will offer Ground handling services at Brussels airport along Aviapartner.
The French company will receive a temporary licence for 6 months and intend to
start on1th July depending on the authorisiation from the Belgian aviation
authorities.
The company plans to hire former employees from Swissport.
At this moment the company is active on 8 French airports. This is their first
activity outside France. |
|
As
from today skydiving is allowed again under the current Covid 19 rules. Jumpers
and pilot must wear a mouth-mask (or closed helmet) during the complete flight
and jump. Up to 20 people are allowed per flight. The aircraft must be
desinfected after each drop. The cockpit of the aircraft when there is a change
of pilot. |
During
May 2020 the cargo transported via Ostend Airport rose with 168,60% (from 1.439
ton in May 2019 to 3.866 ton now)
Only 635 passengers passed through the airport (-98.50%) and 1.101 movements
were counted (-59.70%) |
 Wizz
Air announced today a 14th destination from Charleroi Airport. As from 29
October 2020 the company will fly to Bacau in Romania.
The other destinations offered from Charleroi are Boedapest, Boekarest,
Chisinau, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Iasi, Ljubljana, Skopje, Sofia, Timisoara,
Tirana, Warschau and Vienna
 |
|
During
May 2020 the airport handled only 10.938 passengers (- 99% !!). Flights when
down from 21.055 to 2.855 (- 86.40%) The cargo transported on full-freighter
aircraft rose with 61.50% although the total volume still went down with 8.90 %.
This illustrates the importance of the scheduled passenger flights for the
transport of cargo. |
 On
Monday 15 june Brussels Airlines offers flights to nine destinations (Madrid,
Rome, Berlin, Marseille, Boedapest, Copenhagen, Lissabon, Praag and Vienna).
This is a very limited offer since the company was forced to stop all operations
12 weeks ago. The plan is to offer 59 destinations during the coming months.
(see news item dd 26.05.20) |
Canadian
low cost carrier Air Transat announced that it will not restart the service from
Montreal to Brussel this summer. The company will restart its operations on 23th
July but decided not to fly to 13 European destinations (including Brussel) this
summer.
A return of the company in 2021 is possible but not confirmed at this moment. |
Flights
are now possible with up to 10 people (from the same ‘bubble’). Landing away
from the homebase is possible again but PPR from the airfield involved is
mandatory. Flights abroad are still not allowed as the Belgian borders are still
closed till 15th June 2020.
Balloon flights become possible again but under the strict rules. Passengers
need to be part of the same ‘bubble’. If not, a plexi screen has to be installed
between the different groups. All passengers have to wear mouth masks and
gloves. They also have to confirm, before the flight, that they do not have any
Covid 19 symptoms. The pilot has to wear a mouth mask and a face-shield.
Para-jumping is still prohibited under the current rules. |
Regular
flights to Ibiza with a very limited number of passengers (30 to 42). Departing
from the G.A. terminal at Brussels Airport, more legroom and 25 kg luggage.
Bodson intends to start with a weekly service starting on 4th July using the
Embraer aircraft operated by the ASL Group as an answer to all the questions and
concerns that a lot of potential travelers have as a result of the Covid 19
pandemic. The price for a one-way ticket is around 495 euro. But…. you will have
your one seat our you will be sitting along a family-member or friend with good
food and a glas of champagne. A return to air travel in the late forties, early
fifties. |
TUI
announced that it will restart its operations from Brussels Airport on 20 June.
First destination will be Dubrovnik followed by Faro one day later.
Operations from Antwerp Airport are planned to restart on 10 July. The company
plans to offer flights from Belgian airports to 72 different destinations from
17 July 2020! |
Starting
15 June, Brussels Airport will considerably increase its passenger flights for
all travel in the Schengen Area. The flight offer will increase progressively to
exceed one hundred destinations in July, thus restoring the connectivity with
Europe in a first stage and with part of the rest of the world in a later stage.
Thanks to the collaboration of the airlines and all of Brussels Airport’s other
partners, passengers will again enjoy the pleasure of travelling without stress
due to the implementation of numerous precautionary measures.
Good news! The Belgians and even most of the Europeans will again be allowed to
travel abroad. As the National Security Council announced on the 3rd of June
last, non-essential travel within Europe and the UK is again allowed, with a few
exceptions including Greece and Spain that will refuse travellers from Belgium
until the beginning of July. For Brussels Airport and its partners this means
that passenger activity can resume as of 15 June and, more importantly, that
travel to numerous European destinations is again possible. |
|
Wizz
Air is adding Tirana to its growing network out of Brussels South Charleroi
Airport. They are to open a new base at Tirana/Nënë Tereza and will base three
Airbus A.320 there. Tickets are available on www.wizzair.com |
Flying cargo, even with passenger aircraft, is a profitable business at
this moment.
Brussels
Airlines operates two Airbus A.330-300 aircraft on routes to China and several
African destinations including Conakry (Guinee) and Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
 Air
Belgium has 3 aircraft flying between Phnom Penh (Cambodja) and Brussels as well
as a route from Jinan (China) to Liège.
And
the two Boeing 787’s operated by Tui Fly are flying from Hannover to China and
Korea for several weeks already. |
|
Today
Brussels Airlines will fly a cargo only flight from Brussels to Qingdao (China).
A total of 3 flights are planned using an Airbus A.330-300. The company already
flew some cargo flights to African destination recently. |
|
Austrian
Airlines will restart its service to Brussel on 15 June 2020. The company will
use their smallest aircraft (DHC 8 Dash 8 and Embraer 195) at the start. When
the number of passengers rises again, the switch to the Airbus A.320 will be
made. |
Brussels Airlines plans to restart its commercial flights from Brussels
Airport on 15 June after a 12 weeks interruption. The company offers an adapted
and downsidze summer schedule wich will consist about 30% of the planned summer
schedule in Europe and 40% of the long-haul program.
The company plans to offer flights to 59 destinations in 33 countries by the end
of August.
In order to prepare for the planned restart, Brussels Airlines puts in place
measures to protect its customers and staff during the travel journey, such as
additional disinfection of the aircraft and the use of mouth masks. Several
other measures are being evaluated together with the authorities and aviation
experts.
 |
The Aviation Factory opened an office in the new business aviation
terminal operated by NSAC (North Sea Aviation Center) at Ostend Airport. Both
companies will join forces.
During the last 8 months of 2019 NSAC handled around 1.800 bizjets flights.
15% of the Aviation Factory’s total sales comes from the activities at Ostend
Airport.  |
Private
jet company ASL group recently introduced a new logo for the entire group.
“It's not just a logo. It's a brand” says CEO Philippe Bodson. “And we wanted
it to communicate a very clear and strong message to the world, especially in
these very challenging Covid-times. Not only does this new logo tells who we
are, it also tells what we do, how we do it and why we do it. It was a very
difficult and very long project. Our previous logo had a very strong visual
identity too, but it was ageing, and it wasn't really in line with our vision
anymore. ASL Group is a young, dynamic, efficient, fresh, and forward-looking
company. We aim for the best services and the best customer experience, and we
always aim for higher. This logo represents this vision. A very strong vision
and a promise for a brighter future for all the companies that compose our Group
today". |
|
As
from today the Belgian Air Force take the responsability to guard the Benelux
airspace till mid September 2020. As a result Belgian F.16 fighters based at
Florennes AFB are on 24/24 standby and can react within minutes should an
unidentied aircraft show intentions to enter the Benelux airspace. Before today
the Dutch Air Force took this responsability. |
After
more than 7 weeks of hibernation, Brussels Airlines has announced that they will
resume flights with a reduced network offer as from June 15th. Which destination
will be serviced will be communicated as soon as possible. |
During
the previous month, April 2020, the number of passengers declined with 99.30%.
Only 17.042 passengers passed through the airport. (6.672 departing and 10.370
arriving) A number that the airport handles in less than 1 day under normal
conditions.
The number of flight dropped with 88% till only 2.360 movements (including 1.466
cargo flights) |
Until
today all VFR activities are prohibited with the exception of a monthly
maintenance flight for each aircraft and some special activities (pipeline
control, medevac, …)
From Monday 11 May local VFR flights are allowed when flown solo or when the
passengers live under the same roof as the pilot.
Commercial activities, VFR as well as IFR, are possible again. Flight-training
organisations have to follow the same strict rules as driving schools. But
flight training (theoretical as well as practical) is possible again. |
|
The
Corona crisis has a positive impact on the cargo transported via Ostend airport.
During the first 4 months of 2020 the cargo volume rose by 53% to almost 10.000
tons. During April 2020 5.284 tons were handled (+ 186%).
More full freighter aircraft are active worldwide due to the stop of almost all
intercontinental passenger flights (and the cargo space available on these
aircraft) |
Transport
Minister Bellot has confirmed that the airport is considered a public space,
where the wearing of a face mask is strongly recommended but not mandatory.
Which is logical, considering the low number of passengers that currently pass
through the airport. Brussels Airport considers that the wearing of a face mask
can be made mandatory by the competent authorities prior to the increase in
passenger traffic in the weeks to come. As of 18 May and during the restart of
the airport, Brussels Airport will distribute face masks to all passengers and
staff. |
Wizz
Air is one of the first European companies to restart operations. Last Friday
the company offers the Wien to Eindhoven service again.
Today the company announced that they will offer a new Brussels South to Wien
service starting on 1 July 2020. The service will be flown 5 times per week.
Wizz Air already operates from Brussels South but. Wien is the first non
East-European destination in their schedule. |
The
Irish company CityJet announced the decision to close their Brussels hub.
CityJet operated several Bombardier CRJ’s for Brussels Airlines. This contract
was stopped several weeks ago at the start of the Covid 19 crisis.
90 people lose their job as a result of this decision. Cityjet offered AMCI
(Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) operations to other airlines but
stopped all its activities due to severe financial problems. (source : De Tijd) |
|
In case you ran out of reading material this is an opportunity not to miss...
%20TABS%20-%20COVD-19%20Spring%20OD%20Adv_small.jpg) |
|
On
Wednesday 29 April 2020 the Belgian Air Force took delivery of their first
Falcon 7X bizjet. This aircraft gives the Air Force transatlantic capacity. The
aircraft, serial nr 4, is registered on the civil register as OO-LUM. It was
flown from Kortrijk to Melsbroek via touch and go’s at Kleine Brogel AFB and
Beauvechain AFB. It has been in a hangar with Luxaviation/Abelag Aviation at
Kortrijk Airport for several weeks where it was prepared for service. |
The Belgian C.A.A. extended the closure of the Belgian airspace till 18
May 2020 included. All the rules previously communicated remain in force. As a
result almost all General Aviation aircraft remain grounded.
Some pîlots become a little frustated as their Dutch colleagues are still able
to make VFR flights. This resulted in quite some activity in Dutch airspace
during the good weather period last week. |
In
the FBO (fixed-base operator) survey 2020 organised by Air International News
(AIN) Execujet Brussels (formally known as Abelag Aviation) takes the 23th place
in the ‘rest of the world’ section (excluding the U.S.A.)
Execujet Brussel is the only Belgian FBO in the list and received a 4.13 score.
(max is 5.00) This is 0.01 up compared to the previous survey.
Top European FBO is Farnborough Airport with a 4.67 score. (source AIN April
2020) |
|
In
a letter to the Belgian government Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr confirms the
commitment of the German group towards Brussels Airlines. At this moment
Brussels Airlines talks with the Belgian Government about financial support for
the company. They need a financial injection of around 290 milj. Euro in order
to survive the current Covid 19 crisis. In his letter the Lufthansa CEO stresses
the importance of the Lufthansa Group (including Austrian, Eurowings and
Brussels Airlines) in order to remain competitive on the market. Support from
the Belgian government will only be used to support Brussels Airlines. In the
past there has been some doubts about the intentions of the German management
with the Belgian national airline. The Lufthansa Group is, as ‘Star Alliance’
member, responsible for about 50% of the traffic at Brussels Airport. Other
major foreign carriers, also members of ‘Star Alliance’, may leave Brussels
Airport when Lufthansa Group is no longer involved in the Brussels Airlines
operations. |
Although
we face difficult and uncertain times for aviation, and passenger traffic is
almost at a standstill due to the corona crisis, Brussels Airport is also
looking to the future.
Brussels Airport is pleased to welcome the Danish airline Sun-Air of
Scandinavia, which flies in the colours of British Airways, from September
onwards. Sun-Air will start on 7 September with 10 flights a week between
Billund and Brussels. This will guarantee the connection between Brussels
Airport and the Danish LEGO-city. These flights will be operated with a Dornier
328Jet and you will find them under a British Airways number. |
|
The
chairman of the Aviapartner board, together with some other managers, bought the
company-shares from the American Investment fund H.I.G. Capital. As a result of
this transaction the company becomes Belgian again. The new owners did not wish
to comment on this transaction that was finalized at a moment that the aviation
industrie is in the worst crisis in history.
This may be the moment for the company to change name again and return to
Belgavia ?
(source : l’Echo) |
 Belgium’s
most important fly-in, the Schaffen Diest Oldtimer Fly-in, is cancelled due to
the Covid 19 crisis and the ban on major events issued by the federal government
till the end of August 2020. The next edition is planned for 13 – 15 August
2021. The Experimental Days will also skip their 2020 edition. They plan the
next event from 3 till 5 July 2021 at Leopoldsburg/Sanicole airfield. |
|
Air
Antwerp announced initially their intention to restart the Antwerp to
London/City service on 4 May. Now they announced the intention not to fly till 1
June. Initially two roundtrips per day will be scheduled. CityJet, the major
shareholder of Air Antwerp, received protection against its creditors last
Friday. The company is in serious financial troubles. At this moment it is not
clear if this will have any impact on Air Antwerp. |
18/04/2020
Bizjets flights come to a standstill
Worldwide business jet flights dipped by as much as 79 percent in
the first two weeks of April compared tot he same period last year. Fractional
ownership felt more steeply than aircraft management and charter operations. In
the first half of April just under 1.000 bizjets were recorded operational
worldwide with more than 4.000 in the same period of 2019. It seems some
operators are offering a 10% discount on flights for smaller bizjets up to 44%
for the bigger aircraft !! (source Ainonline.com) |
16/04/2020
Changes in the SN Airholding board
Jan
Smets, former Governor of the the Belgian National Bank, became co-president of
the SN Airholding board. He replaces Etienne Davignon. Davignon kept this
position for 18 years but decided to step down as co-president. He remains a
member of the board. Former Brussels Airlines CEO Christina Foerster returns as
member of the SN Airholding |
15/04/2020
60% fewer passengers and 14.6% less cargo
Brussels
Airport remains open to connect Belgium to the rest of the world under the
safest conditions.
In March, fewer than 800,000 passengers travelled via Brussels Airport. A
considerable drop compared to nearly 2 million passengers in March 2019. The
corona virus caused numbers to drop week after week. The last week of March,
passenger figures showed a decline of 95%. A drop in demand was also noticeable
in cargo transport, which was 14.6% lower than the same month last year. Cargo
is crucial in these times for stocking our country, and thanks to air cargo,
essential products such as pharmaceuticals and medical products can be supplied
quickly. The total number of flights fell by 40%. |
14/04/2020
First Melsbroek based Airbus A.400M flies!
-1280x1280_small.jpg) Yesterday,
13th April, the first (and only) Airbus A.400M ordered by the Luxembourg Armed
Forces made its first flight from the Airbus production facility at Sevilla
(Spain)
-1280x1280_small.jpg) This
airframe (c/n 104) will be operated in a joint effort by the Belgian Air Force
and the Luxembourg Armed Forces. It will be based at Melsbroek AFB. when
delivered in the 2e quarter of this year.
|
12/04/2020
Belgian airspace remains closed for VFR-flight – latest news
The
Belgian C.A.A. adapted the regulations regarding the closure of the Belgian
airspace for VFR and training flights that is in force since 18 March 2020. Last
Friday they published a note that allows a monthly 1-hour local flight in order
to prevent extra wear or damage to aircraft engines as a result of the
inactivity of the aircraft involved. As a result, several light aircraft were
airborne on Saturday and others will certainly follow. |
10/04/2020
URSEL AVIA 2020 cancelled
This event, planned for 27 and 28 June 2020, is the next victim of Covid 19.
The team behind this event just announced that they had to cancel after
consultation of the local authorities.
They intend to organise the same event in 2021. An exact date is not known at
this moment. |
07/04/2020
Our publications are on the way....
 Although
we are forced to stay at home due to the corona virus, we are still operational.
The editorial staff has compiled your Aeronews of Belgium and BCARG publications
and they are now in print. Mailing is planned for 15/4/2020.
So you'll soon have something to keep you busy in these strange times. |
06/04/2020
Belgian airspace
remains closed for VFR flights
The closure of
the Belgian airspace for VFR and training flights that was issued on 18th March
remains in force till 19th April at 23.59 hrs.
Only Police, SAR and medevac flight are allowed as well as maintenance and
pipeline inspection. These rules also apply for remotely piloted aircraft
systems (= drones) |
|
04/04/2020
Lockheed Martin gets F.35 contract for delivery to Belgium
De
U.S. Goverment accorded a few days ago a USD22.9 million contract to
Lockheed Martin. This is part of the agreement with the Belgian government,
worth USD 5,1 billion, for the delivery of 34 F.35A fighters. Deliveries are
planned from 2023 till 2030. |
03/04/2020
Emirates restarts
flights to Brussels Airport
 Next
Monday Emirates will restart its flights to four European destinations,
including Brussels. The company will offer three services each week using the
Boeing 777-300ER.
These are the first flights since the company stopped its operations last week.
Only passengers departing from Dubai are accepted as the country closed its
borders to foreign citizens.
The main reason for the restart of these flights is the large cargo capacity of
the Boeing 777. The rates for airfreight rose significantly because a large
number of passenger flights were stopped. This makes it profitable for the
airline to restart some services. |
|
03/04/2020
Sanicole Airshow 2020 cancelled
 Although
only planned in September of this year, the team behind the annual Sanicole
Airshow already decided to cancel this event for 2020. Bringing together more
than 40.000 people (35% from abroad) in the restricted area of the airfield is
nog a good idea says airshow director Geoffrey Buekenberghs.
The next edition is planned for 10 till 12 September 2021 ! |
02/04/2020
It should have been a good start...
 The
start of 2020 looked as promising as the end of 2019 with good occupation of all TUI and Air Antwerp flights.
However it all changed in the blink of an eye when frontiers closed and the
world came to a standstill and Air Antwerp and TUI were forced to keep their
aircraft on the ground. This also reflects on the monthly figures of March. What
should have been a magnificent first quarter is now reduced to an average one,
thanks to corona.
We saw a decline in March of 43,7% compared to the previous year (9.806 pax vs 17.433).
Nevertheless we have a small growth of 0.5% in the first quarter. |
01/04/2020
Government support for the TUI Group
The
German authorities announced that they will support the TUI Group with a 1,8
bilj. loan that must allow the company to survive the current Corona crisis.
The deal has to be confirmed by a group of financial institutions and the
company will not pay any dividends to the shareholders as long as this loan is
used.
This deal will normally also allow the Belgian branch of the TUI Group to
restart its operations after the Corona crisis is over. |
28/03/2020
Air Antwerp plans to restart flights on 4 May 2020
Air
Antwerp announced that they are working on a restart of their flights between
Antwerp Airport and London/City on Monday 4 May 2020. The company stopped its
operations since 22 March.
Customers who booked a seat on a flight between today and the planned restart
can change their reservation free of charge or cancel their booking.
Because of the fast changing situation Air Antwerp keeps his passengers informed
via
https://airantwerp.com/COVID-19-measures/COVID19 |
|
21/03/2020
Brussels South Charleroi airport closes down
 As
from next Wednesday 24 March 20 at 23.59 hrs Brussels South Charleroi Airport
will close the airport terminal for all passengers and airlines. This closure
will continue till, at least, 05 April 20.
Charleroi is the first Belgian airport tot take this decision after more than
90% of the booked passengers do not show up for their flight and the decision of
several European countries, including Belgium, to close the border for foreign
travelers. |
19/03/2020
Passenger numbers at Brussels Airport
During
February 2020, 1,738,988 passengers passed through Brussels Airport, which
represents a 6% rise compared to the same month last year. This growth is seen
both in the number of originating passengers and in the number of transfer
passengers. It is worth pointing out however that February 2019 witnessed a
nationwide strike on 13 February which kept all aircraft on the ground. February
2020 in turn had an extra day (29/02) as well as the mid-term break, which in
last year fell in March. Which to a large extent explains last month’s results.
As such, the result for February as a whole is lower than forecasted. Without
the effect of the leap day and the mid-term break, growth would have been
negative. March points towards a substantial decline in passenger numbers, duet
o the Corona crisis. |
18/03/2020
Temporary suspension of flights
Due
to the Corona virus, Brussels Airlines has decided to suspend all flights
between March 21st and April 19th, 2020.
Air
Antwerp announces that they will suspend their Antwerp-London City route from
March 22nd till April 10th, 2020.
We do hope that the companies survive this setback in already difficult
times and that all personnel can return to their jobs in good health. |
|
09/03/2020
New sales for Sonaca 200 trainer
 An
accredited training organization (member of the Swiss Flight School Association,
Swiss PSA), Aero Locarno has chosen the Sonaca 200 to complete and renew its
fleet of training aircraft. Following a comparative study, Aero Locarno decided
to choose Sonaca Aircraft's two-seater single-engine aircraft. “The Sonaca
200 clearly stands out from the crowd!” bluntly stated Stefano Buratti, Aero
Locarno CEO. “With its aluminum structure, the Sonaca 200 is a robust and
easy-to-repair trainer aircraft. Stable and agile, the aircraft proved to be
easy to fly even in turbulent conditions. The Sonaca 200 is a spacious and
comfortable aircraft with optimal visibility on board. We have found our new
aircraft for basic training!”.
Aero Locarno is Sonaca Aircraft’s first Swiss customer. “We are convinced
that the Sonaca 200 has its rightful place in Switzerland" said Pierre Van
Wetter, Chief Commercial Officer of Sonaca Aircraft “The engine and high
rates of climb are particularly well suited to mountain flying, regardless of
the aircraft's payload.” |
04/03/2020
Excellent results for Antwerp Airport
February
2020 was a very good month for Antwerp Airport. 18.827 passengers used the
airport, a rise with 22.20% compared to the same month in 2019.
These good results were achieved thanks to the Antwerp to London/City service
operated by Air Antwerp and the very good results on the TUI Fly service to
Innsbruck. This destination is very popular with people who like to spend their
holiday in the snow.
The results could have even been better, but the winterstorms during two
weekends in February resulted in some diverted flights and even some
cancellations. The Airport management remains vigilant regarding the coming
months. The Corona virus will, almost certainly, result in a reduced number of
passengers. |
12/02/2020
New ownership for Sabca
 The
Belgian aviation company Sabca has new owners. Sabena Aerospace and FPIM bought
the company from Dassault Aviation for 75 mil. Euro’s. FPIM the an investment
company controlled by the Belgian government. Sabena Aerospace will have 50% + 1
share in this new joint-venture. |
|
08/01/2019
Good results for Air Antwerp
Air
Antwerp is flying the Antwerp – London/City route for four months now. During
this period the company carried almost 15.000 passengers with their single
Fokker 50. During December 2019 the company transported 4.179 passengers. That
is a number that VLM never achieved in the past. Air Antwerp plans to have
around 50.000 passengers per year.
At this moment the company offers 16 return flights per week between Antwerpen
and London/City. There are three services on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and
Friday and two daily flights on Tuesday and Sunday.
With only 15 employees Air Antwerp is one of the smallest airlines in Europe. |
03/01/2020
Air Belgium
will fly for LOT
The Polish
national airline LOT announced the lease of two Air Belgium A.340 aircraft
during the first 10 months of 2020. The aircraft will be used on the Warschau to
Toronto service. The deal also includes not only the aircraft but also the (Air
Belgium) crew.
The two other Air Belgium A.340’ s are used on their own services to Guadeloupe
and Martinique. Also Surinam Airways regularly uses an Air Belgium aircraft on
their service between Paramaribo and Amsterdam/Schiphol. |
02/01/2020
Best year ever for Antwerp Airport
During
2019 some 306.330 passengers found their way through Antwerp Airport. This is an
all time high and a confirmation that Antwerp airport is worth investing in.
On time performance (OTP) in Antwerp is 98,3%, which ranks it among the best
performing airports in Europe.
Congratulations to all personnel, crews and management for their continuing
efforts. |
|
|
|
Brussels
Airport and skeyes are testing the operational use of drones at and around the
airport this week. In a secure environment, an innovative safety drone is
deployed, which can be controlled from a large distance to find out how drones
can increase the safety, security and efficiency of airport operations. In
addition, a drone detection system is being tested to detect unwanted drones, as
these are not allowed in normal circumstances at and around the airport.
|
 CMA
CGM Air Cargo will add two U.S. destinations to their network. After Chicago,
also Atlanta and New York will be serviced. Yesterday the second airbus A.330F
was delivered to their Liège/Bierset base. The company will operate four Airbus
A.330F aircraft. At his moment the first aircraft, OO-CMA, is flying a daily
schedule from Liège/Bierset to Chicago.
|
Former
Belgian Air Force Fouga Magister MT29 moved from Balen to a new location at
Helchteren. It stands there along a former Czech A.F. Mig 21.
(Photo: Toon Cox) |
|
Today,
around noon, three Turkish registered Sonaca 201 aircraft left the Sonaca
facility at Temploux airport on delivery to Ayjet in Turkey. |
|
The
United States Air Force has awarded the maintenance contract for their Europe
based F-16's to SABCA. SABCA MRO in Charleroi is the expertise center for F-16's
in Europe. The contract means work for the coming 10 years. |
Swissport
inaugurated a brand-new four-story office building at its Brussels air cargo
facility. This opening is the latest milestone in the large-scale refurbishment
of Swissport’s Brussels cargo complex which started in January 2019 and includes
25,000 sqm of warehouse space and a state-of-the-art Pharma Center.
 The
opening of the office building allows Swissport to further improve the flow of
trucks with a dedicated on-site queuing area right in front of the new
acceptance office. Solar panels and a green roof of over 1,000 sqm will greatly
improve the environmental performance of the facility. With its stunning airport
views, the building provides employees and customers with a highly modern and
motivating work environment. |
Traffic
on all airports is very slow due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Today the Antwerp
Airport management used this opportunity to refurbish all markings on the runway
and platforms. So, a lot of ‘painting’ activity today.
Also the demolition of part of the ‘south hangars’ has now started. This area
will be used by ‘De Lijn’ to build a new facility for maintenance and parking of
their public transport buses.
 
 ASL
Aviation has confirmed that it is taking up 10 options for the 737-800 Boeing
Converted Freighter. This follows the original agreement with Boeing for 10 firm
orders and 10 options, announced at the Paris Air Show in June 2019. The first
737-800BCF aircraft for ASL was delivered and entered service last month with
ASL Airlines France.
(source : aviation24.be) |
The
ban on non-essential travel issued by the Belgian government was recently
extended. As a result Air Belgium announced that it will not restart passenger
flights to Martinique and Guadeloupe before 1 April.
Air
Antwerp announced that the earliest restart of the service from Antwerp Airport
and London/City will be 2 May 2021 ! |
Wizz
Air will start a Charleroi/Brussels South to Sarajevo service on 21 May 2021
using Airbus A.320 aircraft. The service will be flown twice each week on Monday
and Friday. Tickets are for sale for 19.,99 (!!) Euro.
Wizz Air now offers flights to 15 destinations from Charleroi/Brussels South
airport. |
NHV
Group today announced a new long-term contract with Neptune Energy in support of
its offshore Seagull Field development. Under the initial eighteen months
agreement, the H175 flights will depart from NHV’s base in Aberdeen to transport
passengers to the drilling rig.
(photo Lloyd Horgan) |
Still
no improvement during December 2020. Passengers went down with 82.20% (338.110
versus 1.901.816 in 2019). The movements went down with 63.90% (6.308 in 2020 –
17.579 in 2019)
Full freighter cargo went up again. This month with 7.2% (15.492 tons) But the
overall cargo went down with 8.90 %. Main reason is the belly cargo flown on
passenger flights that went down with 59% from 14.716 tons to 6.035 tons. |
Air
Belgium announced that it stops (again) its scheduled flights to the West Indies
from 30 January untill 1 March 2021.
TUI
Fly is studying a possible suspension of all flights during February. All these
decisions are based on the ban on leisure travel imposed by the Belgian
government. |
Fedex
announced that up to 6.300 European employees will have to leave the company.
The impact on the Belgian workforce will, almost certainly, be very important.
Paris/CDG airport will become the main European hub. This means that the number
of aircraft (and parcels) at Liège/Bierset will reduce. More details are not
known at this moment. |
While
the aviation sector worldwide was experiencing a nightmarish 2020, Liege Airport
was one of the few airports in Europe and throughout the world to perform well.
Our specialisation in the transport of goods (full cargo) made us a leading
player, an essential link in the fight against the pandemic. We saw a 24%
increase in the tonnage passing through the airport compared to 2019, going from
902,480 to 1,120,643 tonnes.
The lockdown also had a direct effect on consumption patterns, which is
reflected by a boom in the e-commerce sector, a sector which has become much
more important to us as we have handled over 500 million packages this year,
compared to just over 320 million in 2019.
Passenger traffic decreased sharply, with 44,487 travellers in 2020 compared to
170,737 in 2020, a 74% drop.
The total number of aircraft movements remained stable with 40,300 flights
(landings and take-offs) in 2020, compared to 39,886 flights in 2019. The growth
of our cargo activities was in fact offset by the decrease in passenger flights,
training flights and business aviation. |
Last
year, during 2020, Ostend airport handled a total of 52.659 tons of freight (+
112.7%)
The number of passengers went down from 457.423 to 111.499 (- 75.60%) |
|
Jota
Airlines, a British carrier operating several former Belgian registered
BAe146/Avro RJ.85’s announced the start of an air bridge between Ostend airport
and Birmingham. The company offers a twice daily scheduled service as a faster
alternative for road transport. This will almost certainly be delayed as a
result of Brexit. The aircraft used can take op the 10.5 tons of freight (up to
7 pallets of 9 cubic meters volume each) |
On Thursday, 31.12.20, five Siai SF.260’s from the Belgian Air Force/Red
Devils will fly a 2 hours tour around Belgium. They will pass over hospitals and
care-homes in order to honor the health personnel who handled an enormous
workload during the last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The aircraft will
not pass over the provinces of West-Vlaanderen and Luxemburg due to the range of
the aircraft.
 |
Today Marcel Buelens(66) (CEO of Antwerp and Ostend Airport) closes the
door for the last time. After 6 years in charge of both airports he decided that
it was time for retirement. He hands the keys of the airports over to Eric Dumas
(55).
We wish him all the best in this new fase of his life.
|
This
morning the first Belgian Airbus A.400M (msn 106) was handed over at Sevilla
(Spain). The aircraft was flown to Melsbroek AFB after this ceremony. It is the
first of seven aircraft for the 15th Wing Air Transport.
The second aircraft will follow early 2021.
 |
Alyzia
SAS is awarded the second licence for the baggage and ramp handling at Brussels
Airport.
For the next five years, Alyzia will remain active as ground handler at Brussels
Airport. Following a European tender process, the French ground handling
services supplier was awarded a licence for the baggage and ramp handling of
passenger aircraft until October 2025 included. Alyzia is currently operating at
Brussels Airport with a temporary licence following the bankruptcy of Swissport
in June.
|
|
As
from next weekend Ursel airport as to close till the end of January 2021.
Covid-19 is not the reason, it is Brexit. The airport and runway will be used to
park trucks that have to wait before entering Zeebrugge harbour. The local
authorities hope that this decision will help to keep the motorways around
Zeebrugge free (source : het Nieuwblad) |
|
Last
Wednesday Air Belgium restarted their services to Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Both destinations received the Covid-19 code ‘orange’ recently. This allows the
company to fly to both destinations twice each week |
The
first flights with COVID vaccines from Brussels Airport have been carried out
successfully. Since the end of November, 7 flights have already been carried out
to further distribute the COVID vaccine from our country. The very first flight
with COVID vaccines worldwide departed from Brussels Airport on 27 November.
Yesterday, 15 December, 2020, United Airlines transported the first Covid-19
vaccines produced in Belgium to the U.S.A.
|
In
a virtual meeting of the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) on
Wednesday, Brussels Airlines reveived a 4-star rating in the category "Large
Airlines". This rating is based on passenger feedback.
Between July 1st, 2019 and June 30th 2020 more than 1.000.000 flights of 600
airlines were rated by the passeng. Rating was done on the general flight
experience and in detail on Seating, service, food, entertainment and WiFi. |
The
German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) have awarded NHV a contract for the provision
and maintenance of three H145 aircraft in support of their Special Forces’
training program at Laupheim (HSG64). The one-year contract is foreseen to start
in January 2021. In partnership with Milestone Aviation, NHV will provide two
Airbus Helicopters H145D3 and one H145D2 aircraft. NHV’s MRO responsibilities
include the management and implementation of maintenance and repair activities,
material supply and airworthiness. The company will also provide the necessary
training to the Air Force pilots.
 With
this contract win, NHV makes an entry into the German public market. The company
will open a base and line maintenance station, and locate a dedicated team at
the Laupheim Air Base in Baden-Württemberg, South Germany, creating a close
cooperation with the Bundeswehr team. NHV’s brand new MRO facilities in Ostend
(Belgium) will also act in support of the German MRO activities.
NHV is the first company providing trading capabilities on the modern H145D3
five-blades helicopter. The twin-engine multirole H145D3 is based on the
enhanced H145 civilian and parapublic rotorcraft and is suited to a wide range
of military operations – including transportation, reconnaissance, search and
rescue, fire support and evacuations of wounded personnel. The new contract also
brings along several new engineering jobs for which NHV is currently recruiting.
(photograph
Tom Buysse, via NHV) |
The
board of the Diest Aero Club, organisers of the annual Schaffen/Diest Oldtimer
Fly-in, already decided to cancel the 2021 edition.
There is to much uncertainty regarding the Covid-19 situation and the effort to
organise the Fly-in and Drive-in is too important to risk a last-minute
cancellation. The next edition planned for 13 and 14 Augustus 2022. |
In March 2020, Aero Locarno (Switzerland) has signed for 5 Sonaca 200
Trainer Pros. The Approved-Training-Organisation has just decided to double the
initial order bringing the revised order to a total of 10 aircraft. “Even though
we are going through a difficult time in aviation, we are seeing a steady demand
for training which justifies the investment in a brand new fleet. We feel the
need to harmonise our aircraft fleet by acquiring additional Sonaca 200 Trainer
Pros. The Sonaca 200s will replace our old Cessnas. It goes without saying that
glass cockpit and state-of-the-art aircraft will further spark interest in our
school ", Stefano Buratti, Aero Locarno CEO.
The 6 first aircraft will be delivered from February 2021. |
Dieter
Vranckx, the Brussels Airlines CEO, will move to the same position within Swiss
(also a member of the Lufhthansa group) on 1 January 2021
He will be succeeded as Brussels Airlines CEO by Peter Gerber. He is the CEO of
Lufthansa Cargo at this moment. Gerber will also take the role of Group Chief
Representative for European Affairs.
|
|
Last
month, an existing hangar was totally refurbished at the north-side of Antwerp
Airport. It is now clear that this hangar will be the base for the Heli and Co
helicopters that operate from here. Until recently about 3 Robinson R.44, used
on pipeline inspection missions, were parked in another hangar. The company, who
operates mainly from Liège/Bierset airport, now has its own facility at Antwerp
airport. |
According
to a publication from the Belgian C.A.A. (text
in Dutch)
General Aviation flights are only allowed solo, with family-members or a
‘sustainable maintained close contact’ ! This new rules are in effect since 2
November 2020.
Flight training is nog longer possible, if we understand the text correctly.
Student/pilots who are allowed to fly solo can, however, continue their
training.
This new regulation is less strict than in March of this year when all General
Aviation flights were prohibited, except for a monthly maintenance flight, and
is in line with the general Covid-19 restrictions where non-essential movements
are allowed.
|
After months of fighting against a disease, our friend and member Patrick
Janssens has lost his final battle.
Patrick was one of the fixed assets of Antwerp airport and has been for years
the face of the BP fuel supply service at the airport.
We want to express our condolences to his family and friends.
Blue skies mate.
 |
Canadian
carrier Air Transat announced their intention to restart the service connecting
Brussels airport with Toronto from mid April 2021.
This service will be flown with the new Airbus A.321LR aircraft on Monday,
Thursday and Sunday.
Air Transat is the first North-American operator of this new variant of the
Airbus A.321. The A.321LR aircraft has a 4.000 nautical miles range and a 30%
reduction in operating costs.
 |
Brussels
Airlines announced the timing for the restart of flights in order to bring their
network to the level of early 2020. The intention is to serve all destinations
again by the end of February 2021.
More info via this link :
|
According
to Eurocontrol info, published via Twitter, Brussels airlines traffic on 20
October 2020 was 95% lower than on the same day last year. The company is on the
totally wrong end of the diagram! Traffic was more than 61% down in the
Eurocontrol network. Knowing that the coming weeks are the slowest of the year,
the prospect for (Belgian) airlines is simply very negative.
 |
 Rwandair
announced that it will reduce the service on the Kigali – Brussel –
London/Heathrow route to two weekly flights instead of three.
This reduction will be in effect between 25 Oktober till 30 November 2020.
The third weekly service will be restarted from 2 December 2020. |
379,303
passengers passed through Brussels Airport during September. This is just 15.2%
of the total number of passengers recorded in September 2019. This negative
result is mainly due to the increasing travel restrictions and in particular
Spain, Brussels Airport's flagship destination, passing into the red zone. For
its part, air freight continues to make progress, with a strong 18.9% increase
in volumes observed in September |
During
September 2020 handled 26% of passengers compared to the same month last year.
The airport counted 189.377 passengers (737.428 in September 2019)
85.511 (45%) passengers were departing – 103.866 (55%) were arrivals.
The number of commercial flight went down with 54% - 2.025 movements, during
September 2020. Italian destinations where the most popular, followed by France,
Spain, Portugal and Greece. |
As
from 21 Oktober TUI fly Belgium intends to restart the service to Alicante. The
flights to his destination were stopped on 4 September due to the Covid-19 ‘code
red’ for the area. This status was downgraded to ‘Orange’ and this allows the
restart of the activities.
The company will fly to Alicante daily from Brussels. There will be five flights
each week from Oostende and three from Antwerpen and Charleroi. As announced
earlier flights from Antwerpen and Oostende will stop again between 9 November
and 17 december.
We can only hope that the Covid-19 status does not change again in the coming
days !
|
ASL
Airlines Belgium (ASLB) today announced that the airline has entered into an
agreement for two B747-400F with Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). The airlines will
utilise the aircraft in a mutually beneficial relationship.
ASL Belgium will continue to operate its current fleet of three (3) B747-400F
aircraft while NCA will continue to operate a fleet of eight (8) B747-8F
aircraft.
 “We
are delighted to grow our partnership with Nippon Cargo Airlines,” said Dave
Andrew, Chief Executive Officer of ASL Aviation Holdings (ASL). “Both ASL and
NCA provide connections that support the global economy and we look forward to
continuing to provide NCA and its customers with an unmatched service and a
platform for future expansion.” |
Brussels
Airlines announced that it will operate 16 longhaul routes during the coming
winter (from 25 October 2020 till 27 March 2021).
Extra flight during the winter holidays will be available to Banjul, Bujumbura,
Dakar, Douala, Entebbe, Freetown, Kigali, Kinshasa, Monrovia and Yaoundé
The service to New York will not restart before February 2021.
| Destination |
September/
October |
Winter
Season |
Peak period
December till
January |
| Abidjan |
6 |
7 |
7 |
| Accra |
2 |
3 |
3 |
| Banjul |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Bujumbura |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Cotonou |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Dakar |
5 |
5 |
6 |
| Douala |
3 |
3 |
4 |
| Entebbe |
2 |
2 |
3 |
| Freetown |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Kigali |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Kinshasa |
3/4 |
4 |
6 |
| Lome |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Monrovia |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Yaounde |
3 |
3 |
4 |
| |
|
+12% |
+40% |
|
|
TUI
has announced that they will suspend their flight from Antwerp, Ostend and Liège
for a period of 6 weeks starting November 9th, 2020, due to a lower demand
in flights because of corona. |
During
July and August the airport handled 572.589 passengers, or 65% less than in the
same months last year.
240.900 passengers used the airport during July and 331.389 during August. 45%
of these passengers went abroad, 55% were arrivals.
The number of commercial movements went down with 49% from 9.524 in 2019 to
4.849 this summer. |
During
August 2020 Ostend airport welcomed 10.30% more passengers than the month
before, but still 69.40% less than in the same month last year. For 2020 96.439
passengers used Ostend airport, 70% less than during 2019 (321.961 pax)
The volume of cargo handled at the airport remains very healthy. 4.407 tons were
handled during August 2020, a rise with almost 305%!! New companies at the
airport are Qatar Airways, Magma and Hong Yuan. During the first 8 months of
2020 a total of 35.805 tons were transported. A rise with 150% and already more
than during the complete year 2019. |
Already
in April 2020 the organisers of the annual Sanicole Airshow decided to cancel
this year’s edition due to the Covid 19 pandemic. One of the reasons for his
decision was the fact that the organisation needs a lot of support from medical
qualified people. They normally volunteer for this job. But the organisers did
not want to stress them extra. They already offer a lot of extra effort at this
moment.
Now the organisation launches the Digital Sanicole Airshow via the Sanicole
website.
Viewers can do a donation to the vzw Fire Stress Team Vlaanderen.
The digital airshow will show participants from 31 countries. Pilots that
partcipated at the Sanicole Airshow in the past will give interesting insights.
The Sanicole video archive is supplemented with extra footage delivered by
different participants.
The digital airshow will go into premiere on 11 September 2020 at 20.00 hrs via
de Sanicole website https://www.sanicole.com/nl/ |
|
According
to the Air Antwerp booking website, the company will only offer four flights per
week from Antwerp airport to London/City starting on 14 September 2020. The
company only offers the evening flight on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday
until 26 October 2020.
|
|
Air
Antwerp announced that it will only restart the service from Antwerp Airport to
London/City at 14 September. Initially the company intended to restart on 1
September. The quarantine rules in the U.K. make it very difficult to travel at
this moment. The company will offer 2 flights each day and one on Sunday. The
flight around noon is not in the schedule for the moment. |
Last Thursday, 30 July 2020, the first Airbus A.400M – CT-02 (c/n 106)
made its maiden flight from the Airbus facility at Sevilla (Spain). The aircraft
will be delivered to Melsbroek AFB after the completion of the handing over
procedures.
.jpg) |
|
Alitalia
announced today that they will offer more flights to Brussels Airport from
September. The Italian carrier intends to offer 20 flights per week between Rome
and Brussels. From Milan they will offer 24 connections each week |
Two
days ago an hangar burned down at Liège Airport – This incident resulted in a
lot of smoke and a disruption of the operations as the airport fire brigade was
busy controlling the blast.
It now became clear that one aircraft was destroyed in this fire. A second
airframe was pu!lled out of the hangar. Nobody was hurt during this incident |
|
Brussels
Airlines announced that the planned expansion scheduled for August will not take
place. Lufthansa Group and the Belgian government are discussing possible
financial support by the government for almost three months now. But without any
result until today. So Brussels Airlines does not have the financial power to
augment the number of aircraft in service. They will continue with 21 short-haul
and only 2 long-haul aircraft. |
Eurocontrol
counted 90,549 flights last week, or 36.6% of the number of flights made in the
same week last year.
On average, 12,936 (airline) flights were operated per day last week, 1,383 more
than the previous week.
Ryanair took the largest number on its own, with an average of 1,045 per day
(1,273 on Sunday). Turkish Airlines, Wizz Air, Lufthansa and Air France complete
the top five. TUI Group had the highest growth rate for the latest fortnight
(+561%).
Yesterday there were 13.378 flights - still 63% less than the same day last year
The most interesting figure, i.e. the number of passengers, is missing. Many
flights are probably operating under unprofitable conditions.
(source : Eurocontrol) |
Since
mid May, VFR have notably increased at all Belgian airports. At the regional
airports they even accounted for the vast majority of traffic: 91,7% at
Kortrijk, 71,7% at Ostend 78,8% at Charleroi, and 80,4% at Antwerp. At times
Antwerp even handled the most flights of all airports.
The causes for the increase in VFR traffic are obvious. Pilots had more free
time to exercise their hobby during the corona crisis. Moreover, due to the nice
weather, they also had a lot of opportunity to do so. And due to the standstill
of commercial air traffic, the airspace was more often available for their
flights.
(source : Skeyes) |
Mr.
René van Welzen (manager of Belgawel bvba) officially opened the brand new
duty-free shop at Antwerpen Airport. The shop is located in the departure hall.
This is a new valuable addition to the service supplied by Antwerp Airport to
its passengers.
.jpg)
(photo : Dirk Buytaert) |
Last
year the Dutch carrier announced its intentions to offer flights to several
holiday destinations from Brussels Airport. The company probably hoped to
attract former Thomas Cook passengers. But the Corona pandemic stopped the
plans.
Now the company announced that they will fly a Brussels to Innsbruck service
from 17 December 2020 offering two return flights each week (Thursday and
Sunday). |
During
June 2020 Brussels Airport handled a total of 83.589 passengers (-96.50%)
including 50.187
(-95.90%) departing passengers and 33.402 arrivals (-97.20%).
There were 3.957 aircraft movements (-81.10%). Passengers flights were 93.70%
lower than in the same month a year ago but full-freighter flights went up with
45.90% (from 1.191 to 1.738) movements.
The cargo volume on these full freighter flights rose with 71.50% to 18.962 tons
but the total cargo volume went up with only 4.80%.
|
 The
two remaining Westland SeaKing helicopters operated from Koksijde until about a
year ago were recently sold in the U.K.
The highest bid for RS02 and RS04 came from Historic Helicopters a U.K. based
group that already operates a Westand Whirlwind and Wessex Heli as well as a
former Royal Navy Westland SeaKing. They intend to keep these Belgian airframes
airworthy and present them on airshows. |
|
Brussels
Airlines will add additional routes to its present network and offer upto
45% of its pre-coron destinations. The flights will be executed with 27
aircraft. Basle, Birmingham, Bologna, Edinburgh, Goteborg, Milan/Linate and
Warsaw are the first to re-open.Long-haul flights will be postponed till August,
due to ongoing corona measures. First destination to open will be Freetown. |
The
Board of Brussels Airlines and the social partners have an agreement on the
restructuring of the company. The measures taken include:
- minimise the number of people laid off
- people who want to leave the company will be guided through the process of
looking for a new job or make a career switch
- reduce costs and increase productivity of each unit
With this agreement, upto 75% of the jobs can be saved |
Today,
21 June, Ryanair flies to 20 destinations in nine different countries from
Charleroi/Brussels South airport. The other destinations will be served from 1th
July. |
Air
Belgium intended to restart the scheduled service from Charleroi/Brussel South
to Guadeloupe and Martinique next week.
Due to a new quarantine-rule introduced by the French authorities the company
has to postpone this restart till 15 July. At this moment visitors of the French
Islands in the Caraibian have to stay into quarantine for two weeks after
arrival. |
 Today
NHV group announced it has signed a five-year contract extension with Ithaca
Energy (UK) Limited, providing aviation services to the Ithaca Energy Group’s
operated FPF-1 installation, Alba, Captain and Erskine fields in the Scottish
North Sea. The extension covers seven day-a-week coverage out of Aberdeen and
will start in January 2021. NHV will provide two Airbus H175 (primary + back-up)
aircraft for this operation.
 |
After
going into bankruptcy their was, initially, some hope to find a new investor
allowing a restart of the operations very soon.
This now proves to be impossible. Swissport will disappear from Brussels
Airport. As a result some of the very few flights at the airport were already
cancelled because groundhanding is not available. Finnair already announced to
cancel all flights into Brussels still 17 June.
A short-term solution to replace Swissport as leading handling company at the
airport seems not to be available.
|
Together,
the federal investment company FPIM and the Wallon investment companies Sogepa
and SRIW invested 6 milj. Euro’s in Air Belgium. Sabena Aerospace injected
around 300.000 euro in the company. This fresh money was necessary for the
company to survive the current crisis. The intial ad-hoc flights to bring
Belgian citizens home came to a standstill. At present the company is flying
cargo between China and Europe.
(source : De tijd) |
Handling
company Swissport Belgium nv announced today that it will go into bankruptcy.
1.469 jobs are probably lost as a result. The company is the handler for
Brussels Airlines. More than 50% of the work done by Swissport Belgium was
related to Brussels Airlines flights. Siwssport Belgium was already loosing
money for several years. The Covid 19 pandemic together with the reduction of
the Brussels Airlines fleet by 30% where important factors for this decision.
The cargo department remains operational. This branch has 67 employees. |
TUI
has announced that they will restart operations at Antwerp on July 10th,
2020.
Antwerp Airlines will start its operations on September 1st. This decision is
caused by the fact that all visitors to the UK will have to go into quarantine
for 14 days, making business trips rather difficult |
|
Antwerp
Airport is still suffering from the corona measures. In May we saw 1.236
passengers or 95% less than in May 2019. Over the period of January-May the
number of passengers has decreased by 50,6% (49.880 vs 100.644) |
Starting
on 8 July, runway 07L/25R will be closed for major renovation works. As a result
this runway will be unavailable till 23 August. Works are carried out 24/24 –
7/7 in order to limit the closure of this runway. Under normal conditions runway
07L/25R is the most important take-off runway at Brussels Airport.
This runway is the last of the 3 runways that receives a major make-over. Runway
07R/25L was renovated in 2015 and runway 01/19 in 2016.
|
The
decline in aircraft deliveries reflects the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on
General Aviation.
During the first quarter of 2020 deliveries declined although the first months
of the year were strong. Turboprop deliveries went down with 41.8%. Deliveries
of bizjets sank with 19.1%. Piston fix-wing aircraft deliveries fell by 11.7%
and piston helicopter deliveries went 42.9% lower than in de same quarter of
2019. Turbine heli’s lost 18.3%. The value of all these aircraft was 21.3% lower
than in 2019.
We noted two new bizjets on the Belgian civil register during the first quarter.
Surprisingly three aircraft were registered in April 2020 !
source : GAMA |
|
The
Taskforce Lichte Luchtvaart (Taskforce Light Aviation) asks all pilots to keep a
log of all persons with whom they had contact when making a flight (names and
functions and, if possible, mobile nrs). This will help to return General
Aviation to ‘normal’ as soon as possible. The idea is to safe the list for about
3 to 4 months. It can then be destroyed when no contaminations have been
reported. |
As
from Sunday 21 June Ryanair will offer a limited number of flights from Brussels
and Charleroi/Brussels South.
At this moment the company operates only one single service from a Belgian
airport, between Brussels and Dublin.
From early July the company plans to add flights to other destinations and
increase the frequency on other services. The idea is to offer, at that moment,
around 1.000 daily flights on the complete Ryanair network. |
|
Brussels
South Charleroi Airport announced today that commercial flights will be resumed
on June 15th, 2020. All precautions have been taken to safeguard personnel and
travellers. |
The
Flemish government has granted additional subsidies for the airports of Antwerp
and Ostend. Antwerp will receive an extra 300.000 eur and of course our "green
friends" are disappointed. |
|
Our
number one carrier Brussels Airlines has announced that drastic measures will
have to be taken in order to survive the corona pandemic. 1.000 persons (25%)
will be fired as a result of the downsizing of the fleet by 30%. Brussels
Airlines also hopes to get financial aid from the Belgian government as well as
the main shareholder Lufthansa. |
 Eurocontrol
gives very interesting info on their website regarding the decline of airline
traffic over Belgium and our neighboring countries. Traffic over Belgium went
down with as much as 85%
Have a look at
https://www.eurocontrol.int/covid19 |
|
During
April 2020 the airport handled 96 !! passengers, pilots not included. The impact
of the Covid 19 pandemic is enormous. There were 325 movements (essential
flights as well as inspection and maintenance flights) compared to 3.139 last
year. |
NHV
Group today announced a new long-term contract with Spirit Energy to provide
passenger transfer services in support of their East Irish Sea operations. The
operations are foreseen to start in December 2020 and will depart from Blackpool
(UK). NHV’s team will fly an AW169 helicopter to support the service.
NHV already gained experience with the AW169 helicopter type in Norway, where
they operate the AW169 in support of the Norwegian Coastal Agency’s operations
since 2017. Mike Gislam, Accountable Manager for NHV in the UK, commented:
“We are honoured to be chosen aviation partner for Spirit’s East Irish Sea
Operations. NHV continues to invest in fleet and training to take on unique
projects just like this one."
Brussels
South/Charleroi airport closed its terminal on 24 March 2020 with the intention
to restart the activities on 3th May.
Now the airport management communicated that they are looking at a possible
restart early June. One of the important factors in a reopening is a decision by
the national security council allowing Belgian citizens to travel abroad again.
Also the different airlines operating from the airport still a have to announce
their plans.
|
Brussels
Airlines today announced that they will suspend their scheduled flight till June
1st, due to the ongoing corona pandemic. However some aircraft are kept on
stand-by for repatriation and/or humanitarian flights.
All 4.200 employees are kept in technical unemployment. |
Liège/Bierset
airport is one of the rare airports were the impact of the Covid 19/Corona
crisis is almost invisible. It may even have a positive impact.
Shipping cargo in the belly of passenger aircraft came to a standstill. As a
result the prices for cargo on full-freighter aircraft went up from about 1
euro/kg to between 4 and 5 euro/kg. This means at all available cargo aircraft
are flying at this moment.
Liège airport handled 6% more freight during March 2020 than in the same month
of 2019. Every week about 650 cargo flights are handled or about 4 every hour !! |
|
Yesterday
a ‘sonic boom’ could be heard over Limburg. During a test flight after
maintenance a Belgian Air Force testpilot accelerated his F.16 though the sound
barrier. Belgian Defense announced this flight to the neighbourhood of Kleine
Brogel AFB in order to avoid any anxiety among the people living in the area.
(source : www.internetgazet.be) |
|
Thai
Airways announced that it will not restart the Bangkok to Brussel service before
early July. Earlier the company intended to restart this service early June. At
this moment three weekly flights are planned (Tuesday, Friday en Sunday). Before
the Covid 19 crisis the company offered six weekly flights |
Brussels
Airport take the 16th place in an overview published by Eurocontrol regarding
the number of parked and inactive airliners. 78 aircraft are parked (including
43 Brussels Airlines and 23 TUI aircraft). Aircraft kept in stand by are not
included in this numbers.
For more details look at
https://ansperformance.eu/covid/acft_ground/
This website gives more interesting insights regarding aircraft types and
companies involved. |
18/04/2020
Mon Van Gestel passed away
 We
were informed that Mon Van Gestel passed away last Friday. He became 90 years
old last January. Mon was involved in the founding of Aeroclub Keiheuvel and
was, for years, the chief instructor at Keiheuvel. The number of pilots he
trained must be very important. He will always be remembered for his ‘crazy
flying’ demo at the annual Keiheuvel airshow disguised as a missionary who just
started his flight training.
Blue skies Mon!
(photo Archives ASA/Georges Van Belleghem) |
17/04/2020
Sint Niklaas annual balloon event cancelled
The annual Balloon event at Sint Niklaas that takes place during
the first weekend of September as part of the Vredesfeesten has been cancelled.
For the first time since 1948 there will fly no balloons from the market place
in the city-center this year ! |
14/04/2020
Liège-Bierset airport becomes WHO hub
The
World Health Organisation (WHO) has appointed Liège-Bierset airport as the
European hub for the transport of medical equipment related to the Corona/Covid
19 epidemic. The airport will be used to transport up to 100 milj. mouth masks
and gloves, 25 milj. ventilators and 2,5 milj. testkists. The WHO stated that
the airport was chosen for its central location and its 24/24 hrs operations. |
13/04/2020
Etihad Airways will also restart flights to Brussels Airport
 Abu
Dhabi based Etihad Airways announced that it will restart flights to several
European destinations, including Brussels. Abu Dhabi offers passengers that are
blocked in Abu Dhabi due to the Covid 19-restrictions the possibility to go
home. But, the main raison for the restart is the cargo business, especially the
transport of fresh products. |
11/04/2020
Brussels Airlines cancels 8 destinations
Brussels
Airlines announced that it will not restart services to 8 European destinations
before the 2021 summer schedule. These cities are Sevilla, Valencia, Bristol,
Hannover, Billund, Marrakech, Santorini and even Moskou. As a result of this
decision the lease of five Bombardier CRJ.900’s was stopped. These aircraft were
returned to CityJet. Brussels Airlines said that it is not clear, at this
moment, which services will be restarted first on 15th May. This depends on the
permissions received from the countries involved.
|
|
08/04/2020
ASL starts construction of new GAT terminal at Liège/Bierset
 Early
April bizjet operator A.S.L. started the ground work for the construction of
their new hangar and G.A.T. terminal at Liège/Bierset Airport. This is a major
project for this company that is also finishing a new hangar at Antwerp Airport.
 |
|
06/04/2020
Brussels Airlines delays restart
Brussels
Airlines announced that they will not restart their services until, at least, 15
May 2020. When starting again, there will only be a restricted number of
services available.
Some aircraft remain available for flights to bring stranded Belgian citizens
home. Airbus A.330 – OO-SFE – was very active the previous days making flight
from Brussels to Kinshasa and Lubumbashi on 1 April. A flight Brussels – Abidjan
– Conakry – Brussels on 4 April and a service Brussel – Freetown – Monrovia –
Brussel on 5 April 2020.
Passengers on cancelled flights can chose a new date to travel till 31 August
2020. The trip can be delayed till 30 April 2021. |
|
03/04/2020
‘Renationalisation’ of Brussels Airlines is an option
LN24,
a French speaking news agency, announced that the Belgian governement is
studying a possible renationalisation of Brussels Airlines.
A group of experts including the president of the Belgian National Bank is
looking at this option.
The company needs between 200 and 290 milj. Euro’s to stay operational. There
are major concerns about the actions Lufthansa will be prepared to take after
the Corona crisis. They will have to solve major issues to stay in business
themselves. So, the survival of their affiliates will, probably, not have the
highest priority.
The Belgian government expects additional information from the Germans.
Brussels Airlines is seen as a company that is essential for the Belgian
economy. 3.500 people are working for the company that is also very important
for Brussels Airport and the Belgian tourist related businesses.
Other European countries take the same steps regarding their national airlines. |
02/04/2020
Brussels Airport closed A-terminal
Last
Monday the Brussels Airport management decided to close the A-terminal. This
terminal is normally used for intra Schengen flight only. Due to the very
limited number of flights at this moment all aircraft and passengers are handled
from the B-terminal. |
|
31/03/2020
Brussels South Charleroi Airport prepares reopening
Brussels
South Charleroi Airport intends to restart commercial flights from Monday 4 May
2020. This date is based on information from the National Security Board and
from the initial planning made by the airlines involved.
The airport hopes to confirm this date later. Today only medical flights as well
as flights related to maintenance activities are accepted. |
20/03/2020
Antwerp Airport remains open
On
Sunday March 22nd, all regular flights will come to a halt. There are no
training, nor VFR flights but the airport will remain open with minimal
occupation. All service and administrations will be available apart from the
navigation office. The airport building remains open to the public but social
distancing has to be respected. |
19/03/2020
Repatriation of Belgian citizens
Brussels
Airlines has planned 56 special flights to repatriate 9.500 Belgians, stuck in
14 different countries. Although all flights will be suspended between March
21st and April 19th, 2020, the company will remain on stand-by in case
additional repatriation flights need to be executed.
A big thumbs up to all personnel. Keep it safe and healthy. |
18/03/2020
Belgian airspace closed for VFR traffic
As part of the Covid 19 mesures taken by the Belgian government the Belgian
airspace will close for all training and VFR flights from 11am GMT on 18 March
2020 till 11am GMT on 5 April 2020.
The only flights allowed
under VFR conditions are medical, police and SAR operations as well as pipeline
inspections. |
04/03/2020
Brussels Airlines to move to new Brandenburg Airport
Starting
November 8th, all companies of the Lufthansagroup will move their operations
from Berlin/Tegel (TXL) to the new Berlin/Brandenburg airport (BER). All
reservations will be transferred automatically and free of charge.
Brussels Airlines' first flight will be at 6:50 (SN2592).
|
26/02/2020
Corona virus impacts Brussels Airport
Cathay
Pacific cancelled more than 50% of all its flight during February and March due
to the impact of the Corona virus on air travel. Also the flights to Brussels
are impacted . For March to company reduced the number of flights to around 60%
of the initial number. Only seven flight are planned. Two flight per week during
the first two weeks of March and only one service during the remaining weeks of
the month. Normally the company offers 18 flights per month. |
03/01/2020
TUI Airlines Belgium adds two Balkan destinations to its network
During
the coming summer TUI will offer flights to two new destinations : Ohrid in
North Macedonia and Pula, Istria in Croatia.
The Balkan destinations are very popular with already 25% more bookings compared
to last year.
Ohrid will be flown every
Saturday starting on 6 June 2020. Pula will be served twice each week (Wednesday
and Saturday) from 5 April 2020. | | |
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