Brussels Flights

I arrived 2 hours and 45 minutes before my flight back to NYC. The two enormous lines that converged on the 2 Border officials took over 45 minutes to process. I arrived with barely 35 minutes before boarding began. Once processed, Security was very swift. However, if I had gone shopping in the general Airport area I might have missed my flight! As an aside: the shops after Security are AWEFUL. Arrive VERY early and shop!

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We flew to Brussels from Aberdeen with KLM via Amsterdam. Schipol airport is one of the largest airports in Europe totally crowded with passengers. Trying to check in involves long queues and needs adequate time to change flights. We had three hours from landing in Amsterdam and needed every second. The good news for us anyway is Aberdeen now has direct daily flights to Brussels - so more Europe for me in the future

SN Brussels Airlines & British Airways code-shared this sector, operated by British Airways. The journey takes about 45 minutes. The moment you reach cruise altitude, it's time to descend.

Trawl the SN Brussels Airlines website - you can grab an early bird ticket of only 18GBP 1 way. That's a steal! (see website link below)

I believed the budget airlines all land at Brussels-Charleroi, an airport about 55km from Brussels itself.

TO GET FROM SINGAPORE TO BRUSSELS
There are no direct flights. You may choose to transit via Paris, London Heathrow or Amsterdam.

We flew with Ryanair from Dublin to Charleroi. It cost us 65 yoyos each, one way. You can get a much cheaper flight but it depends on the day and if they're having a deal or not. But on the hole - like Preparation H - Ryanair are not bad.

Brussels is well served by two airports but choose carefully as one is miles away. May as well be in Sydney!!! However I've never used the other one so I've no idea about it.

Aer Lingus fly into Brussels main airport and their prices are not bad at all.

You don't need to go down to Charleroi (Ryanair) to get a resonable fare. Although I do use Charleroi from time to time, I still prefer using real airports to avoid landing in mere airfields in the middle of nowhere. Besides, if you are late, a taxi to Ryanair's airports will cost you 3 or 4 times more than a taxi to the main airport ... Virgin Express connects Brussels Zaventem with most of Europe at excellent prices and the service is fine, no meals or newspapers but at least you get numbered seats and avoid stampedes to get the best seats.

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Strange that I'd not thought to write a tip about the airport. A case of missing the obvious.

It is one of my favourites, and one of my most used. Not so much recently, but in the 90s my business took me to Brussels every couple of months. Plus at that time Sabena was promoting its hub by offering great discounts on its UK regional flights connecting with another SN flight.

I remember well the old 1960s (or whatever) vintage terminal. The new "wings" are a huge improvement, but no soul...

I was at the airport for a few hours yesterday, and with it being 26-12 and me still in holiday mode, I took a few photos to remind me to write this.

It is a place where you can eat very well if you want to pay the price.

In a world where airports are full of ripoffs (see phone warning tip for Brussels) or at least very high prices, I was surprised to see that there was what was called a "Supermarket" on the arrival level of the Brussels airport with reasonable prices. It is on level and down a corridor about 50 yards from the main area. This may explain why the small typical airport convenience store on the same level had prices that would be considered reasonable compared to those found in other airports. Still, the prices were better at the "supermarket".

The "Supermarket" is not large, but it seems to have a selection of just about everything you would expect to find. It opens at 7 AM with fresh bread available.

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Brussels Airport being located 14 km north-northeast of the center of Brussels, is convenient and most of the time easy to travel through, mainly served flights between EU and other European countries.
"A" for Schengen zone countries (i.e. no passport controls) and "B" for non-Schengen (including the UK and Ireland). The departure hall is more pleasant than the arrival hall, which is sometimes chaotic. Passengers travelling through area "B" have a far shorter walk to/from the 'planes. Flights occasionally arrive at area "A" from non-Schengen.

Bright and airy the Shengen terminal is much better than the older one and also offers more opportunities for shopping. Especially the second floor, where you have a smoking area, which gives you a great view over the leaving aircraft. The cafes are good and not too expensive when compared with places like Heathrow.

The airport train station is located below the terminal (basement level-1). Up to 4 trains an hour connect the airport to Brussels North, Brussels Central and Brussels Midi stations. Tickets are cheap and are sold at the kiosk in the baggage claim area. The train service should be improved.