A new dedicated check-in area for holiday travellers has been opened at Brussels Airport. The refurbished check-in zone is located in the oldest part of the main Zaventem terminal building dating back from 1958 and includes specialised commodities for travellers with small children.  In a first instance the area is composed of two lanes (rows 11 and 12) each containing 12 check-in points. During the summer season a third row will be added and room is available for even a fourth. The new area is used by Thomas Cook, Jetairfly and Corredon. Source: Luchtvaartnieuws. 

Star Alliance member, Brussels Airlines is increasing its African capacity with over 20 percent and offers 6% more flights on its European network. Four new destinations to Africa will be offered including Accra (Ghana), Lomé (Togo), Cotonou (Benin) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). With this expansion Brussels Airlines will be able to offer 18 African destinations all flown with its fleet of Airbus A330-300 airliners. In Europe, Mediterranean as well as popular City trip destinations will have their frequency increased. Source: Brussels Airlines press release 

On 22 March, British RAF Typhoons fighters were scrambled again from RAF Coningsby after UK air-traffic controllers picked up phrases including the words "ransom" and "hostage" on a flight from the US. The flight crew also asked for permission to carry out a sudden descent in order to "test" an auxiliary power unit, a procedure deemed highly unusual and thus suspicious. The Typhoons shadowed the American flight across the UK airspace into Belgium, where it landed. According to defence officials, "the matter was resolved", but no further information has been released as to what happened. Source: The Independent

United Airlines today celebrated the inauguration of its new daily nonstop service between Brussels and Chicago.  The route will be operated flying a newly reconfigured Boeing 767-300 which features United’s new premium cabins, including lie-flat beds in business class, 15.4-inch personal television screens, and more than 150 hours of video entertainment options.  The fight schedule for the new service is as follows: United 973 - departure Brussels 11:00 a.m. with arrival at Chicago O’Hare at 1:15 p.m. Return flight: United 972 - Departure Chicago O’Hare at 06:00 p.m. and arriving at Brussels at 09:20 a.m. the following day. Source: United Airlines

The European Union and the Unites States reached agreement on an expansion of their historic 2007 Open-Skies agreement that will provide for greater EU-US cooperation on a wide range of aviation issues. The agreement was concluded after eight rounds of talks, the most recent of which included three days of talks in Brussels, Belgium. The new accord builds on the EU-US Open-Skies agreement. Signed in April 2007, that agreement eliminated restrictions on services between the  EU member states and the United States allowing airlines from both sides to select routes and destinations based on consumer demand for both passenger and cargo services, without limitations on the number of EU or US carriers that can fly between the two parties or the number of flights they can operate. The new agreement affirms that the terms of the 2007 agreement will remain in place indefinitely. It also deepens EU-US cooperation in aviation security, safety, competition, and ease of travel. In addition, it provides greater protections for U.S. carriers from local restrictions on night flights at European airports. It also includes a ground-breaking article on the importance of high labour standards in the airline industry. Source: AMT

Holiday airline Jetairfly will start flying to two new destinations for the 2010 summer holiday period. As of June 25th the company opens a new route between Charleroi and Algiers and from 2 June onwards between Oostende and Malaga. For this purpose two more Next -Generation Boeing 737 will be added to the fleet which by now will have grown to 14 aircraft. The Charleroi-Algiers route will be flown with a 737-800 while on the Oostende-Malaga link Jetairfly will use a Boeing 737-700. For this expansion, Jetairfly is looking for 78 new employees, essentially cabin crews. Source: Luchtvaartnieuws

In spite of the impact of the winter conditions in various places in Europe and the United States, Brussels Airport welcomed 1,078,521 passengers in February, 4.9% up on the previous corresponding period. Growth is registered in all passenger segments with long haul traffic doing particularly well. The low cost segment (two bankruptcies in 2009) and intra-European traffic recorded the smallest growth. Concerning cargo handling, Brucargo is still 8.1% down on the same month last year, with 35,248 tonnes carried in February. Although cargo carried aboard passenger aircraft is growing strongly, full freighter traffic figures are still impacted by the demise of Cargo B in July 2009. Due to a decrease in the number of long-haul flights operated by DHL, integrator traffic too recorded negative growth. The number of aircraft movements dropped by 4.6% to 16,261. This figure reflects the many flights that were cancelled due to the winter conditions, but it also indicates higher load factors on the flights that were carried out. The number of cargo flights was also down on February 2009. Source: Brussels Airport

The second Airbus Military A400M, known as MSN2, has run all four of its Europrop International (EPI) TP400 turboprop engines in a series of trials after being handed over for flight test. The aircraft is expected to taxi for the first time shortly and to make its maiden flight from Seville, Spain in a few weeks, joining MSN1 in the sky. MSN2 will remain based at Seville during the flight-test campaign. A video of the engine-run can be seen here. Source: Airbus Military

The monthly statistics on air traffic and airport movements in Belgium over Ferbuary 2010 published by Belgocontrol show a decrease of 3.273 movements or -4.40%. (71.083 movements down from 74.356 compared to the same month one year earlier). Airport statistics give the following figures: Brussels Airport: 16.361 movements (-4.62%), Charleroi-Brussels South: 6.359 movements (+10.80%), Oostende: 4.434 movements (-21.56%), Antwerpen-Deurne: 3.983 movements (-17.00%) and Liège-Bierset: 2.981 movements (-2.13%). Canac controlled air traffic between flight levels 135 and 245: 36.965 movements (-2.64%).  Source: Belgocontrol

Next June, a joint expedition of members of the Belgian and Congolese Armies will start a search for a helicopter which crashed in North-West Congo in 1965. Vertol Piasecki H21 FG-378 belonging to the Heli Flight Buto belonging of the Congolese Air Force disappeared in mysterious circumstances on June 26th, 1965 near Stanleyville (now Kisangani). The all Belgian crew composed of pilot Frans Allaeys, Adjudant Robert Jacobs and Captain Raymond Bordon remained missing in action ever since. The families convinced Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem to launch the search 45 years after the tragic events. Source: De Standaard

A bomb alert on a Ryanair 737-800 at Charleroi airport turned out to be a false alarm after the plane was evacuated and searched, aviation officials said. Aviation authority BSCA officials said a search of the plane and passengers found nothing and the plane was ready to take off on its flight to Fez, Morocco. Fire-fighters were also brought in to help deal with the incident, which according to airport officials did not disrupt any of the other incoming or outgoing flight operations at Charleroi. Source: Earth Times

On Saturday March 27th at 16.00hrs a debate-conference will be held at the Centre Culturele de Chièvres (Chausée de Saint- Ghislain, 16 at Chièvres) by the Musée International de la Base Aérienne de Chièvres on the subject of the use of wooden bombs by the RAF during World War II.  Jean Dewaerheid will animate this discussion in search of the truth of this legend of the war days. Entrance is free. Click here to see the official poster.

The Belgian Defence department is offering for sale Airbus A310-222 with registration CA-02 via a public tender procedure. As the Belgian Air Force now leases the much larger Airbus A330-322 CS-TMT, the old CA02 which was in need of a major overhaul became surplus. (Click here for tender). Two other tenders for large quantities of spare parts for Fouga Magister have been obtained by Magist Air of Beauvais, France  and Mr. Moureau of Saint-Ghislain.

Engine failure has caused a Belgian military Lockheed C-130H Hercules transport aircraft to make a forced landing in Baku,  Azerbaijan. The plane was flying from Brussels to Kandahar and had landed in Baku earlier to refuel. Due to a fire in one of the engines forced the crew to turn back to Baku to make an emergency landing at Heydar Aliyev International Airport at 11.06 local time. There were 14 passengers and nine crew members on board the aircraft, which al remained unhurt. Source: News.az

The first A400M was flown from Seville to Toulouse following a test flight performed in the Seville area. This flight is the tenth performed by A400M MSN1 since its first flight on 11th December 2009. In total the aircraft has logged 39 hours of flight test. Very poor weather in Seville prevented the aircraft from performing more flights, as the sensors installed on the turboprop blades for the initial flight test campaigns, are sensitive to humidity. During the initial testing, MSN1 has flown at the type’s maximum operating speed of 300kt (555km/hr), maximum Mach number of M0.72, down to the stall warning, and at an altitude of more than 30,000ft. It has operated extensively in both direct and normal control laws, and in different configurations. The first A400M is equipped with heavy test instrumentation, as is the second aircraft which was handed over to Flight Test on 6th March and is due to fly in the next few weeks. MSN 3 is undergoing final production ground tests before engine installation. The aircraft is due to fly by the middle of this year. Sections for MSN 4 have arrived in Seville for final assembly, with the main fuselage due to leave Bremen and be flown to Seville at the end of this week. MSN 4 is to fly in the second half of this year. While MSN 1 and 2 are fitted with heavy test instrumentation, MSN 3 and 4 will have medium test instrumentation. The fifth aircraft, MSN6, which is the first built to production standards, is going to be fitted with light test instrumentation only. The five aircraft will perform a planned 3,700 flight-hours before first delivery of the A400M in late 2012. Trials with MSN1, 3 and 6 will be performed in Toulouse, while those with MSN 2 and 4 will be done in Seville, providing greater flexibility and taking advantage of best weather conditions where available.  Source: Airbus Military

Shortly before 08hoo this morning, Brussels Airlines Avro RJ100 OO-DWF (picture) on the Hamburg (Germany) - Brussels route (flight SN-2630) reported a fuel leak and smoke on board while on approach to Brussels Airport.  The aircraft made a successful emergency landing on runway 02 about 20 minutes later with emergency services standing by. No one of the crew and passengers on board suffered injuries. Source: De Standaard and Luchtzak

Since created by BAHA founder Yves Duwelz, some 10 years ago, the BAHA website will welcome today its 1.000.000th visitor. Started as an experiment, the Belgian Aviation History Association's website quickly developed into one of the most complete and popular Belgian aerospace sites now ran by BAHA president and webmaster Daniel Brackx. Due to the enormous amount of images and information provided by a network of professionals, specialists and enthusiasts, the daily updates bring the latest on aviation in Belgium and provide a continuous flow of images rarely seen before. Thanks all for your trust and fidelity. Up to 2.000.000.

Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium will add a seventh Airbus A320 airliner to its fleet as of the month of May 2010 and at the same time will recruit 50 new people including 10 pilots. The new Airbus will mainly be used on flights to Tunisia and some other Mediterranean destinations of the tour operator. Source: Het Laatste Nieuws and Thomas Cook

A replacement Airbus A330 provided by Hi Fly to the Belgian Air Component has been damaged while being manoeuvred. The tail section having been damaged this aircraft is temporarily out of service. A replacement part is expected shortly and as the other A330 is still available as is the single A310 of the Air Component no planned missions’ cancellations are expected according to the military airport manager. Source: Belga

25/02 - Sabena technics to supply testbed aircraft to France's Flight Test Center

Sabena technics Group has been chosen by the French Defense Agency (DGA) to supply, modify and maintain in operational condition a new generation testbed aircraft for its flight test center. Within the scope of this contract, notified by the French Defense Agency late December 2009, Sabena technics will provide:

• the platform: a Fokker 100 type aircraft,
• the study and integration of the modifications to be carried out on the aircraft’s structure, enabling the fitting of new military equipment to be tested during the test flights undertaken by the DGA Essais en Vol, cabin modifications and upgrades in order to include the test benches enabling test flight operations and data collection,
• the analysis and integration of communication systems,
• the maintenance and engineering support of the aircraft and its components over a ten year period.. Source: Sabena technics

US Airways Group Inc. and Brussels Airlines are awaiting approval of their new codeshare agreement by U.S. Department of Transportation and Belgium government. The carriers have agreed to a bilateral codeshare relationship, which means that each airline may market flights operated by the other carrier as if they were its own. That would improve access for U.S. Airways customers with single-source booking and baggage connection to more than 20 new destinations in Europe and Africa. The planned start date is April 3 for ticket purchases and April 7 for flights. Also on April 7, US Airways will resume service to Brussels from Philadelphia International Airport as it shifts from summer-only service to year-round flights. Source: Business Journal

European governments have reached an agreement on sharing the costs of the over-budget A400M military transport plane. Spanish Defence Minister Carme Chacon said that the seven countries involved and the plane maker EADS, owner of Airbus, had reached an agreement in principle. A spokesman for the UK's Ministry of Defence said he expected a joint statement from all involved by Thursday afternoon. The A400M is 5bn Euros ($7.25bn; £4.5bn) over its initial budget as a result of weight and engine problems.  Source: BBC News

Former Red Devils aerobatic team Potez-Air Fouga Magister MT-13 has arrived by road at the Antwerp Stampe & Vertongen Museum from the Royal Army Museum's depot at Vissenaken. The aircraft which is on loan from the Royal Army Museum has already been assembled and will remain in the "Flying Hangar" as no sufficient space is available in the main exhibition hall. The aircraft will be on display on the many local events such as "Draaidagen”, “Stampe Fly In” etc.  Click here for pictures by Willem Rongé.via the S & V museum website

In July Brussels Airlines will launch four new African destinations: Accra (Ghana), Cotonou (Benin), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Lome (Togo). These additional destinations will be offered many times a week from Brussels Airport. The current connections to Abidjan (Ivory Coast) will also be increased. An additional Airbus A330-300 (OO-SFV msn 095) will join the Brussels Airlines fleet in March creating additional 110 staff positions within the Company. The four new destinations are situated in West Africa and are completely new routes for Brussels Airlines. The routes will attract business from, VFR (visiting family and relatives), the business community, diplomatic services and the tourism industry. The flights to these new destinations will be operated with an Airbus A330, which will complete the long-haul fleet of Brussels Airlines. The first flight will be operated in the first week of July 2010. Source: Brussels Airlines.

As of June 8, 2010 Brussels Airlines will open a link between Brussels and Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The new route which was announced on the Burkina website lefaso.net will be flown twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays. It is also expected that Brussels Airlines is to announce the use of a fifth Airbus A330 airlines on its extended African network. Source: De Standaard en lefaso.net

At the end of March 2010, with the beginning of the summer schedule, Austrian Airlines will be launching its cooperation with new Star Alliance partner airline Brussels Airlines. Until now, Austrian Airlines has flown the route from Vienna to Brussels five times a day. In future, however, the cooperation between the two carriers will allow for two additional flights a day, increasing the total to seven flights a day. Source: Austrian Airlines.

The annual "Fly to Your Dream" job day organised this year at Kleine Brogel airbase, attracted over 300 young people interested in a career with the Belgian Air Force. Through a large variety of presentation stands interested youngsters could obtain information on the several job opportunities available with the Belgian Air Force ranging from pilot, over weather specialists and military flight control to operating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. During the day the possibility was offered to fly in several machines such as the Embraer RJ145 and Agusta, Sea King or Alouette III helicopters. For a good many this was definitely a first step towards realising their dream. Some impressions.

European defense and aerospace company EADS has received a new offer from the seven member governments hoping to save the troubled A400M military transport plane program and is now studying the proposal. The company is pressing the governments of Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey for clarity about the program that is billions over budget. Source: Defence Talk

The Chinese airline Hainan Airlines is restarting its link between Brussels and Shanghai. As of the end of May Hainan will offer three flights weekly. At the moment the Chinese airline has a direct flight four times per week between Brussels and Beijing. With four flights a week to Beijing and as of May, three flights a week to Shanghai, Belgium and China will be connected by a daily flight. Source: VRT/Flanders News

Delivery of the new NH90 which is to replace the Sea King and Alouette III helicopters at Koksijde will be delivered with a delay of five months.  Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem (CS&V) has officially confirmed that the first of the new machines will only be delivered in November 2011. Delivery of the NH90 of the Naval variant (NFH) for service aboard Belgian Navy Component ships has been delayed by 5 months and will now be handed over to the Belgian authorities one each in November 2011, February 2012, April 2012 and Juin 2012. Delivery of the transport and rescue version (TTH) remains as planned between April 2012 and February 2013. The contract with the Belgian Defence foresees a penalty of 0.5% of the  helicopter's unit price per moth of delay. Source: Belga 

Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem (CD&V) has received governmental approval for the modernisation of the main reception area of the Military Airport of Melsbroek airbase. (Part of Brussels' Zaventem airport). A budget of maximum 700.000 Euros is foreseen to renovate the infrastructure in view of the Belgian presidency of the EU during which many European dignitaries will use the military airport. The tarmac of the base will also be resurfaced, a tender for which was launched last January. Source: De Redactie. 

Both the Belgian Aviation History Association (BAHA) and Les Vieilles Tiges de l'Aviation Belge/Vieilles Tiges van de Belgische Luchtvaart (VTB) announce the release on Remembrance Day, 26 October 2010 of a new publication called "Gebroken Vleugels'" ( Dutch Version) and Ailes brisées (French version).  By means of some thousand short biographies in most cases illustrated with one or several unique pictures, the book honours the pilots and crews, civil and military, who died in service for their country, Belgium. This massive research project was composed by six seasoned authors, all members of BAHA and VTB; André Bar, Daniel Brackx, Cynrik De Decker, Georges Lecomte, Jean-Louis Roba and Jacques Schelfaut. Find the presentation folder her in NL and FR.

Airport owner MAp Group says Brussels Airport recorded a 14 per cent drop in annual earnings but forecasts improving traffic levels at the Belgium gateway this year. A fall in fourth quarter traffic compared to the same period in 2008 was due to the impact of heavy snowfalls in December. However, MAp chief executive Kerrie Mather said Brussels Airport's results in the fourth quarter showed improving trading conditions. Brussels Airport, which is 39 per cent owned by MAp, posted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) after specific items of euro 191.2 million ($A303.88 million) in the year to December 31, down 14.2 per cent on the previous year. Revenue for the year was down 3.6 per cent on the previous period to euro 365.7 million ($A581.21 million), although retail and aeronautical revenues were up in the fourth quarter compared to the previous corresponding period.  Source: 9News

The airport of Brussels- South Charleroi has handled 297.918 passengers over the month of January 2010, an absolute record. Compared with the same period one year earlier (218.701 passengers) this is an increase of 36 percent. This growth can be attributed to the increased number of destinations offered from the Walloon airport. Source: Luchtvaartnieuws.

The Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines (MEA) will launch a new link between Beirut and Belgium’s capital Brussels as of June 22nd, 2010.  MEA will offer three weekly connections between the two cities. The airline used to fly links between Brussels and Lebanon up to 1996 and now re-established this link after a 13 years absence. Source: Belga

A group of peace activists calling themselves "The Bombspotters" managed to breach the security at Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium where the U.S. Air Force might deploys nuclear bombs. The activists penetrated nearly one kilometer onto the base over more than an hour and reached aircraft shelters. Once they were noticed, the activists were blindfolded and arrested, and their cell phones and cameras were confiscated. Source: Alert 5

Today, exactly fifty years ago a young Belgian Air Force pilot gave up his life to avoid a disaster in the Dutch town of Eindhoven. Lt. Louis Beulens was on a training flight with three other Republic F-84F Thunderstreak fighter bombers of N° 31 Squadron of the 10^th Win of Kleine Brogel when he suffered a flame out of his engine. Being unable to restart his powerplant he was guided by ground radar to the nearest airfield at Eindhoven. When he finally broke clouds he wasn’t able to see Eindhoven airbase but was aware that he was over the centre of Eindhoven. To avoid a catastrophe in the densely populated area Lt. Beulens turned north, but in doing so giving up all his chances for a safe escape with the ejection seat.  His Thunderstreak, FU-129/8S-H crashed in a field at Son en Breughel. Unfortunately although the pilot had tried to eject he was far too low to survive and was killed.  (Ejections seats at that time could only be used at a minimum height and a minimum forward speed). The city of Eindhoven who was well aware of this act of bravery, has erected a monument to commemorate this event and even a school was named after this pilot.  More information here

EADS, parent company of the aircraft builder Airbus Military, is seeking a total 6.4 billion euro’s of extra funds to complete the A400M transporter project, but buyer countries have rejected such a proposal. Countries involved in the airlifter project; Germany, France, Spain, the united Kingdom, Belgium, Luxemburg and Turkey are only ready to contribute an additional 2 billion euro’s to cover cost overruns for the A400M military transporter plane, the German parliament's budgetary committee said. Source: De Morgen

Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa substantially expand their cooperation on the African market.This agreement allows Brussels Airlines to offer its customers as from today an excellent flight schedule to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, countries that up until now were not part of the vast African network offered by Brussels Airlines. Thanks to a codeshare agreement with Lufthansa these destinations are included in the Brussels Airlines network portfolio. Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa will also work together on the flights to Angola. As from today the passengers of both airlines can make their choice between four weekly frequencies to Angola (two operated by Lufthansa from Frankfurt, two operated by Brussels Airlines from Brussels).Brussels Airlines passengers travel from Brussels Airport to Frankfurt, from where they connect on partner Lufthansa to Abuja, Lagos, Malabo, Port Harcourt or Luanda. Flight schedules have been adjusted to allow for smooth connections in Frankfurt.. Source: Brussels Airlines

European Union nations are being urged to establish a pooled air-to-air refuelling capability, after a study last year concluded that a critical shortfall exists among partner air forces. The European Defence Agency conducted a study from 2005 into the possible formation of a tanker unit via a private finance initiative, private/public partnership or joint venture agreement, says Belgian air force Lt Col Laurent Donnet, project officer in deployability. "We got no interest from the nations in 2007," he adds. The EDA gave a fresh presentation to national representatives in March 2009, including input from commercial refuelling service provider Omega Air, and a follow-on meeting was staged last November. This drew involvement from the multinational Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE) organisation, the US Naval Air Systems Command and UK company Qinetiq. Donnet says the meeting resulted in "possible interest from the nations," but notes: "There was no clear commitment." However, feedback provided during December suggests that a niche could exist for a commercial supplier to provide "assured access" AAR services under some circumstances, for example while supporting international training deployments. The EDA will on 10 February again raise the issue of a Commercial AAR Interim Solution (CAARIS) project with its 26 EU member states. Source: Flightglobal

On July 27, 1999 AviaPartner took over the French group Elia. This group provides airport services (passenger check-in, loading and unloading of aircrafts, cargo handling) at the airports of Nice, Strasbourg and Montpellier. These activities are carried out through the operational subsidiaries Air Azur, Edel Air and Air Oroc. Last year, Elia’s turnover reached more than 200 million FF. and the company employs 600 people. Elia’s take-over enables AviaPartner to reinforce its European network. After the recent start-up in Schiphol, this network now counts no less than 27 airports, among which 11 in France, where the group operates under the name Assistair. Source: Aviapartner

A former Belgian Air Force Lockheed F-104G Starfighter (FX-69) and a "Red Devils" Fouga Magister (MT-9) restoration projects, are up for sale on eBay.  According to the present owner, both aircraft are not airworthy and never will be. Both aircraft have seen extensive service and are in need for restoration after having been stored for many years. Many parts have either damage or corrosion, but also many are new. The F-104 however has progressed well and is not far from being completed. The Fouga project still has to start. The aircraft and the spares are located in a hardened shelter, protected from the elements at Niederrhein Airport in Germany. Link to the eBay sales page. Pictures of the Starfighter project   1   -  2     and Fouga Magister project on BAHA.

A new Belgian rescue team left Melsbroek Military Airport bound for Haiti. The twenty-nine members of the Belgian international aid and rescue outfit B-Fast hope to provide assistance to earthquake victims. This second B-Fast team will relieve the B-Fast members still in the field since ten days now. They are expected back in Belgium on Sunday. Fourteen Haitian children will also be on board the aircraft returning to Belgium. The children are being adopted;  their adoption procedure was already underway before the quake but has been speeded up. Belgium is also sending an Air Component C130 Hercules transport plane to organise an air-bridge to Port-au-Prince from Dominican Republic because due to the influx of aid from several countries the airport in the Haitian capital can no longer cope. Larger planes like Airbuses are being diverted to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The Belgian Hercules may provide a shuttle service between the two airports allowing more aid to be brought in quickly. Source: De redactie

Following a series of three flights on consecutive days the Airbus Military A400M airlifter MSN1 has now completed a total of seven flights and clocked up 30hr 20min block time. Taking advantage of improving weather the aircraft flew every day from 14-16 January, making excellent progress in exploring more extreme areas of the flight envelope, precisely calibrating the air data collection equipment, and beginning specific assessments of the aircraft systems. MSN1 has flown at the type’s maximum operating speed of 300kt (555km/hr), maximum Mach number of M0.72, down to the stall warning, and at an altitude of more than 30,000ft. It has operated extensively in both direct and normal control laws, and in different configurations. Chief Test Pilot Military Ed Strongman, who is one of five pilots to have flown the aircraft, said: “We have performed some very interesting flights and collected a lot of good data. The aircraft is a delight to fly and there have really been no significant problems at all.” MSN1 is now spending 3-4 weeks in the hangar undergoing modifications in light of the test data and experience so far and will return to flight in the second half of February. Aircraft MSN2 will join the flight programme in early spring and MSN3 will fly around the middle of the year. An eventual five prototypes will perform a planned 3,700 flight-hours before first delivery of the A400M in late 2012. Source: Airbus Military

At Kleine Brogel airbase, Major-General Claude Van de Voorde, the Belgian Air Component Commander and Colonel Fred Vansina base Commander have officially opened the new Kleine Brogel Air Museum (KBAM). The museum gives a complete overview of the 65 years of the existence of one of Belgium's most important airbases by means of pictures, documents and artefacts related to the base. A group of some 20 volunteers dedicated most of their spare time during the last two years to turn the old Staff building to a very educative and well presented exhibition.  For more information please visit the museum's brand new website at: http://kbam.be/welkom.php.  -  Picture of the opening ceremonie.

The monthly statistics on air traffic and airport movements in Belgium over December 2009 published by Belgocontrol show a decrease of 3.746 movements or -4.87%. (73.143 movements down from 76.889 compared to the same month one year earlier). Airport statistics give the following figures: Brussels Airport: 16.117 movements (-7.09%), Charleroi-Brussels South: 6.626 movements (+9.34%), Oostende: 4.784 movements (-7.73%), Antwerpen-Deurne: 4.483 movements (-19.73%) and Liège-Bierset: 3.284 movements (-3.89%). Canac controlled air traffic between flight levels 135 and 245: 37.849 movements (-3.68%).  Over the whole of 2009 Brussels Airport shows a drop of 10% in aircraft movements while the regional airports, in spite of the economical crisis have handled 3% more traffic. The radar centre of Canac registered a drop of 8.42% in the aerial activity. Detailed airport figures: Brussels Airport: 231.668 movements (-27.127 or -10.48%), Brussels South-Charleroi airport: 100.478 movements (+3.138 or +3.22%), Oostende Airport: 87.766 movements (+6.804 or +8.40%), Antwerpen-Deurne Airport: 78.928 movements (+5.016 or +6.79%), Liège-Bierset Airport: 45.788 movements (-4.719 or -9.34%). Source: Belgocontrol

Military officials from the countries signed up to buy the Airbus A400M transport plane reaffirmed their commitment to the much-delayed project but failed to reveal any additional financing. Representatives of the countries involved made a renewed attempt in London to end the uncertainty over the funding for the Airbus A400M transport plane. The meeting came after repeated warnings that production of the A400M would have to be cancelled if governments failed to agree to pay a higher price for the aircraft. Source: NY Times &  Earthtimes

Brussels Airlines and the Spanish airline Spanair, both member of Star Alliance, start cooperation. As of January 14th, 2010, Brussels Airlines customers can easily transfer to connecting flights to multiple destinations in the Spanish main land or on the islands. In a first phase it concerns Alicante (Costa Blanca), Ibiza and Mallorca on the Balearic Islands, the Northern Spanish port La Coruna (Galicia) and Tenerife on the Canaries. All connecting flights are being operated by Brussels Airlines’ latest partner Spanair. The Spanair flights will appear with a ‘SN’ flight number in the reservation systems. Baggage is automatically checked through to the final destination and passengers can earn and redeem Miles & More frequent flyer miles on all flights.  Source: Brussels Airlines

As of January 10th, Brussels Airlines offers 4 daily flights between Brussels and London Heathrow – two morning and two evening flights. These flights will be scheduled for excellent connections to Brussels Airlines' European and African networks via Brussels, with a minimum transit time previewed. This is the first direct connection with London's premier airport since the bankruptcy of Sabena some eight years ago. Brussels Airlines now offers flights to and from 8 destinations in the UK. With 27 flights per day on weekdays the company has the best connections between the capital of Europe and the UK. Source: Traveltradejobs

Brussels Airport has handled some 231.668 flights over the year 2009. This is a decrease by some 10.5% when compared with the same period one year earlier. The number of night flights dropped to 13.233 or a decrease of 26% over one year while over a two year period the number of night flights was even halved.  Source: Express.be

Brussels South Charleroi has handled some 3.937.187 passengers against 2,957,026 in 2008, an increase of 33%.  December was also exceptional as 325,610 passengers were registered, totalling an increase of 38%. The airport of Brussels South Charleroi also comes up with new destinations. Jetairfly, who recently launched Djerba, Murcia and Monastir, will open 6 new destinations in 2010 (Istanbul, Antalya, Heraklion, Rhodes, Al Hoceima and Tangier).  Wizz Air has increased the frequency of its flights to Prague and Ryanair has opened 18 new routes. In addition, the airport has also added a new airline in May: Air Arabia Maroc which offers flights to Casablanca. Source: BSCA

A public tender has been launched by the Government with the aim of renovating the parking spots in front of the C-130H hangars and the AML (Aéroport Militare Luchthaven) at Melsbroek airbase. Hopefully the much needed resurfacing and reinforcements to allow the leased Airbus A330 to operate without restrictions from the parking is included in this tender.  More details available here.

Airbus threatened to scrap the overdue and over budget A400M military transport just weeks after its maiden flight, putting more pressure on seven European governments to give it better financial terms for the troubled project. Analysts said the threat was aimed at forcing governments to move ahead with a project that supports 40,000 jobs but is three years overdue and over budget. Actually cancelling would be highly unappetizing at a time of high unemployment across Europe, and alternative planes don't meet the requirements set out for the A400M.

The eight A109BA which were put up for sale by Request for proposal (RFP) MRMP-A/A-8AA.V03 in July 2009 are reported to have been purchased by MAD Africa Distribution, the same company that purchased the 23 Alouette II (see BAHA Forum ). Several of these Alouette II were already observed arriving at Tamatave (Madagascar) early November 2009. Source: Topmada

Belgium's third airport, Oostende-Brugge has seen a drop of 10.6% in its total tonnage of freight handled over 2009, dropping from 82.920 ton in 2008 to 74.148 ton. In spite of the worldwide crisis the airport can still maintain itself as a major player according to the airport direction. A positive sign is the 4.7 % increase in freight traffic over the month of December 2009. The number of passengers using Oostende-Brugge airport decreased from 199.958 in 2008 to 192.776 over 2009, while the total number of aircraft movements increased by 12.2% to 37.356 from 33.298 one year earlier.  Source: De Tijd

The Flemish regional airport of Antwerpen (Deurne) has handled some 169.446 passengers over 2009, a 4.3% drop compared with on year earlier. This decrease is significantly lower than Brussels Airport where an 8 % loss is to be expected. The drop in Antwerpen passengers was mainly noted in the first half of 2009 while the last six months of the year showed a small but encouraging increase thanks to the Antwerpen-London City, but certainly the Antwerpen-Manchester routes. Business travel from the airport over the last quarter was up by 4.5%. Source: De Tijd

The Airbus A330 leased by the Belgian Air Component again has been the victim of technical troubles on Monday forcing the aircraft to return to its home base Melsbroek. The A330 had taken off from Brussels for a flight to Douchanbe, capital of Tadjikistan with 136 men military personnel on their way to Afghanistan. When the crew noticed that the undercarriage did not retract as foreseen and nothing helped it was decided to return to Melsbroek after having burned sufficient fuel where the large airliner made a uneventful landing. While the aircraft is being inspected the passengers are to be transported to their destination with an A310 made available by the leasing company as foreseen in the contract.  

The 76 year old female pilot and her 74 year old passenger have perished in the crash of their private aircraft, Reims-Cessna F.172P Skyhawk OO-TRB. The aircraft was last seen having to abort the landing at their airfield of destination Ursel due to heavy snowfall. A helicopter of the Federal police and a ComOpsAir Sea King were used to pinpoint the wreckage of the Cessna. Finally the machine and its unfortunate victims were located in the Drongengoedbos, very near Ursel airfield. Source: De Redactie.