Zaventem Airport is investing 500 million euros in expansion: “Totally renewed experience in departure and arrival hall”

According to Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport, the estimated 500 million euros is the largest investment in the airport of the past thirty years. It is necessary because the airport is increasingly collapsing on its borders. The current capacity is 28 to 30 million passengers per year. By 2032, when the works have to be ready, the airport expects 32 million passengers.

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The Sheraton hotel and the lifts and escalators at the airport are also on their limits. For example, the hotel is almost fully booked half the year. The future airport tram, planned for the early 1930s, also requires adjustments to the infrastructure.

The airport wants to strengthen its role as a connection point between the plane and the train, tram, car and bicycle. There will also be a new bus station and a renewed taxi and drop-off zone. The new hotel at the airport will have more than 300 rooms.

« Brussels Airport will offer the passengers a totally renewed experience in the departure and arrival hall, with more space and light and a breathtaking view of the Tarmac, » says Feist. « These investments are ringing in a new era for the airport. »

“Brussels Airport will offer the passengers a totally renewed experience in the departure and arrival hall, with more space and light and a breathtaking view of the Tarmac”

Arnaud Feist

CEO of Brussels Airport

The expansion falls within the new environmental permit that the airport received last year. The Council for Permit Disputes will soon deal with the appeals against that permit, not only from local residents but also from the Brussels Region. Brussels Airport says that the additional infrastructure is intended for passengers, not for flights.

Old train

60,000 people work on and around Zaventem Airport, emphasizes Flemish Viceminister President Ben Weyts (N-VA). « The airport is an engine of prosperity in Flemish Brabant. Large investments in the airport are rendering for all of us. »

The main part of the investment is borne by the Brussels Airport Company, a company with a majority share of foreign investors and pension funds. There is also a participation of 25 percent of the federal participation and investment company FPIM. Other investments are supported by the Flemish and Brussels governments. That is the case with the airport tram, which will provide an extra connection between the capital and the airport, and the works on the Brussels Ring, which must improve accessibility for car traffic.

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The train connection is still a working point. Federal Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) was annoyed by the presentation of the plans that he had to track down in an outdated train set to the airport. That does not give a good first impression to foreign visitors, he thought.