Brussels Airport
 

We are scheduled to fly London to Brussels airport on July 8, and then rent a car.
We fly back out of Brussels on Sunday July 17 at 7:30am.

I've looked in this forum and online but can't find up to date information on the status of the airport as they recover from the explosions there.

Is the airport and car rental service fully operational?
Any sense on how long it takes to get in/get out of the airport?
Is there a hotel within walking distance of the airport given our early departure?

I called Orbitz yesterday and they told me our flights are still scheduled in and out of Brussels as originally booked. I know our trip is 2 months off, but would appreciate any updates.

Thanks,

Chris

Brussels Airport is working very hard to be fully operational again by the end of June.

For the actual situation and regular updates, see https://www.brusselsairport2203.be/e...t/#section-faq - there's a chapter 'car rental'.

For your last night, book one of the airport hotels. Either Sheraton Brussels Airport (across from departures) or one of the hotels a bit further away (5 min.). Most of them, if not all, offer a free shuttle service.

I flew into Brussels (from Berlin) last Wednesday, April 20, and out (to Montreal) the next day.

Arrival at the airport was close to normal, and the wait for a taxi might have been 10 minutes at most.

Departure was more involved as the Departure Hall is still closed and temporary facilities are in place. Our flight was at 1040 and we arrived at the airport about 0800. There was one police checkpoint outside the airport which didn't slow traffic very much. We were dropped in a parking garage and made our way through the garage and by elevator to a pre-entry security check. A paper boarding pass or itinerary was necessary to join the lines. All baggage went through a scanner as did passengers. This whole procedure took about 30 minutes. After that there was a maze of temporary structures where airlines had set up check-in counters. We were fortunate as when entering we found an Air Canada rep who took us directly to the check-in desk. After that, we were eventually directed to a concrete stair-case (there must have been eight or ten flights as I lost count). Reaching the top we then entered the terminal on the second floor of the near-deserted Departures Hall and proceeded through the normal pre-flight security checks. Total time from arrival at the airport to our gate might have been 75 minutes.

The forecast is for the Departures Hall to be reopened in July, so all this may be of academic interest to your plans.

I don't know if there is a hotel in walking distance of the terminal but I see no need to walk. On arrival about mid-day it was about a 15 minute cab ride to our hotel (Thermae Boetfort on the other side of the airport) and about the same back to the terminal the next morning. I doubt that traffic would be a problem on a Sunday morning.

This website from Brussels Airport is constantly updated and should answer most of your questions:

http://www.brusselsairport2203.be/en/

<<The forecast is for the Departures Hall to be reopened in July, so all this may be of academic interest to your plans.>>
Part of the Departures Hall will be reopened in the coming days/weeks. By the time TS travels, everything may be back to normal.

The train station inside Zaventem is back in operation. I think there are 3 trains an hour.

Part of the departures hall Will reopen on May 2nd.

Apparently it is chaos there today with huge queues outside the terminal, and waits of up to 3 hours just to get into the terminal. Lots of people missing their flights because of it.

It seems to me all they have done is moved the targets outside, and crammed them closer together. A terrorist would kill and maim far more people if they were to attack today. Hopefully they won't, and Zaventem will sort things out quickly, to avoid situations like this happening again.

Wouldn't be surprised...

They reopened partially the deaprture hall and accept up to 80% of capacity. Yet they kept the security measures quite tight which results in chaos.

Wounder who we'll blame since we fired our minister of transport (it was time).

I'll be there later this month, hope it's sorted by then.
Travel with handluggage only; it may be slightly easier.

Whathello; that's 2 ministers down. Wonder who's next..

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I will monitor the situation as best as I can with the links provided. Best wishes and safe travels to all.

Chris

Perhaps the re-opening was a trifle premature. Brussels Airport has to get this right or people will avoid the airport for years to come.

I was to fly out of Brussels on May 9th but due to unforeseen surgery I had to cancel our trip. Can't say I'm very unhappy.

In June we'll fly from Antwerp.

I think laverendrye is right: re-opening was premature.

New travel advice from Brussels Airport:

We advise travellers to be at the airport:

- 2 hours in advance for Schengen flights
- 3 hours in advance for non-Schengen flights

After the huge lines Mon/Tue, they changed some procedures so it is running a bit smoother today.

http://news.trust.org/item/20160504143514-tlacj