Brussels Airport (IATA: BRU, ICAO: EBBR) (also called in Dutch: Luchthaven Zaventem or in French: Aéroport de Zaventem), also Zaventem Airport or Brussels (Zaventem) International Airport, was formerly known as "Brussel Nationaal/Bruxelles-National" (Brussels National). It is an international airport located in Zaventem, near Brussels, Belgium. The airport is a hub to Brussels Airlines, European Air Transport, Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines Cargo, Eva Air Cargo and Saudi Arabian Cargo. It is also a hub for a private company called Abelag Aviation

The airport is home to around 260 companies, together directly employing 20,000 people.

In 2005, the airport was awarded Best Airport in Europe by ACI/IATA, based on a survey conducted with over 100,000 passengers worldwide.

The airport received an official name on 19 October 2006: Brussels Airport, Welcome to Europe. According to the airport operator, its main characteristics are: European, Welcoming and Efficient.

The company operating the airport is known as "The Brussels Airport Company N.V./S.A."; before October 19, 2006, the name was BIAC (Brussels International Airport Company).

The origins of Brussels Airport at Zaventem date back to 1940, when the German occupying force laid claim to 600 hectares (1 hectare = 2.471 acres) of agricultural fields to the east of Brussels, near the Belgian military back-up airfield "Steenokkerzeel". The Germans constructed 3 runways in the shape of a triangle: runway 02/20 and 07L/25R which are still in use today, and runway 12/30. The airfield buildings however were constructed within the territory of the nearby municipality of Melsbroek and not of Zaventem, which is why the airfield was known to the locals as the airfield of Melsbroek, or "Fliegerhorst Melsbroek" to the Germans! There is an urban legend that the site of the airport was chosen by the Germans after asking locals where to build it - the Belgians then pointed to this location as it was often foggy.

After the liberation (3 September 1944), the German infrastructure at Melsbroek fell into the hands of the British. When the old civilian airport in Haren became too small, the Belgian authorities decided to use the aerodrome at Melsbroek for the new national airport. By 1948, a new terminal building was constructed to replace the old wooden building. Also in 1948, the length of runway 02/20 was increased to 1200 meters, of runway 07L/25R to 2450 meters, whereas 12/30 remained at 1300 meters. The civil aerodrome of Melsbroek was officially opened by the Prince Regent on 20 July 1948. From 1948 to 1956 many more buildings and facilities were erected, but almost always on the Melsbroek side of the site.

In 1955, a train line connecting the city centre of Brussels with the airport was constructed. The line was officially opened by King Baudouin on 15 May 1955. A direct train link with Leuven and Liège was opened on December 12, 2005. A link with Antwerp will be completed in 2010.

In 1956 a new runway was constructed, the (at that time) 2300 meter long parallel runway 07R/25L, still in use today but later increased to 3200 meters. Also, in april 1956 the Belgian government decided to build a new airport, using the same runways, but with the buildings located within the territory of the municipality of Zaventem. In April 1957, construction started of the new terminal, preparing the airport for the 1958 World Fair. The grass runway 12/30 had to make way to allow for the new passenger terminal. This new airport was inauguarated July 5th 1958, almost just in time for the 1958 World Fair. So historically, the birth date of Zaventem airport is July 5th 1958. Incidentally, the buildings on the Melsbroek side are still in use by the Belgian Airforce (15th Transport Wing), and is still known as Melsbroek airfield. Both (Zaventem airport and the military airfield of Melsbroek) share the same runways.

During the boom of commercial aviation in the 1960's and 1970's, several hangars were constructed. A new cargo terminal was constructed in 1976. In 1994, a brand new terminal was constructed adjacent to the old 1958 building. Two old piers were torn down and replaced by modern ones. In 2002, amidst the turmoil engulfing the demise of the national airline Sabena, a new pier was opened. This Pier A is destined to support flights from and to the Schengen treaty countries. The airport is operated by The Brussels Airport Company, owned by the Australian financial group Macquarie (75%) and the Belgian State (25%). The company president is Luc Van den Bossche (Former Belgian Minister) and the CEO is Wilfried Van Assche.

In 2007, the airport served 17.8 million passengers, an increase of 7% over 2006. The cargo volume in the same year amounted to 780,000tonnes, an increase of ¨8.9% over 2006.

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

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

A new 'low-cost airlines' pier will be completed before the end of 2009. It will be built in place of the old south pier. At present, several low-cost airlines including Ryanair and Wizzair fly to "Brussels South Airport", actually located in Charleroi, 40km away from Brussels.

[Source: Wikipedia]

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