Plastic Pilot

I had the opportunity to discover Brussels National airport two years ago, and since then I went through it several times, so I can write a review, as I did for Frankfurt and London City.

Brussels is a very international city, holding the headquarters of the European Commision and NATO, amongst others. This results in large number of international flights, from Europe and the world. Once you will reach the immigration desk, be sure to go in the correct lane.

If you come from European Union or Switzerland you can use the left lane. If not, I suggest you open a hot-dog business in the right lane. The immigration officers do their best with all exotic passports but this sometimes takes ages…

Before reaching immigration, you could get some surprises. I flew there on Brussels Airlines, the company the emerged after Sabena bankrupt and merge with Virgin. Not the national company, but someting like. Even so, we parked at a gate… but instead of accessing the terminal through the jetty, but went downstairs on the tarmac, boarded a bus, and had a 5 minutes bus ride ! Yeeeah.

After immigration things go fast to the taxi station where a spectacular co-ordinator manages the flow of incoming cars and passengers. At peak times, expect up to 30 minutes to get a taxi !

Departing from Brussels is normaly a seamless process. Shopping is good both before and after security, passport check is quick, and safety screening is normally efficient, thanks to sufficient staffing. The gates from which each flight will depart are frequently announced late, but there are enough seats, coffee shops and duty free shops to have a good time. The walking times are more than acceptable.

All in all, travelling throught Brussels is not so bad. Given the historical relations between Belgium and Africa, it is probably the airport of choice for a transit to the black continent.