Brussels National  

Date of Visit = August 2000

Pilot: = Nigel Webb

e-mail = nigel@warp9.org

Field Report = There is a dedicated General Aviation Terminal, with both ramp and hangar space available.

There is a handling agent "Abelag", but handing is not mandatory, and fairly expensive for most GA purposes. If you are prepared to file your own flight plan and don't need a GPU or a bodyguard (just two of the services on offer) don't bother.

Brussels has the concept of peak times. These are currently 8-10 and 17-20 Local. Don't land or take-off during these times if you know what's good for you. The price for a 20:30 arrival, a 16:30 departure and two nights parking was GBP 52. I think that is pretty good for a major international airport. I am told that the amount would have tripled had I wanted either to land or depart during peak times.

The arrival into Brussels (VFR to avoid Eurocontrol) was simplicity itself. As I crossed the coast at KOK FL055, I was given a squawk by Ostend App, who subsequently handed me directly to Brussels Arrivals. They cleared me via a combination of both VFR and IFR waypoints to a visual join onto 25R. The last section of the join entails flying for about 5 miles at 600 AGL to remain below the CTR. Tight circuits are very much appreciated, as is accurate taxying around the labyrinthine taxiways.

Departure is the usual drill for large airports. Call Clearance before startup, call ground for taxi, and tower for line-up. Departure is contacted as soon as you leave the ground, and the rest is as per the arrival.

All in all, a very impressive experience and one I would thoroughly recommend.