European Air Transport N.V./S.A. (EAT) was a
cargo airline
Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of air cargo, cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.
In 2018, airline ...
headquartered in
Brussels Airport (Building 4-5) and in
Zaventem
Zaventem () is a Belgian municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant. It is located in the Dijleland area, one of the three large recreational areas which together form the '' Groene Gordel'' ("Green Belt") around the Brussels-Capital Region ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. The airline was owned by
Deutsche Post
The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. ...
and operated the group's DHL-branded parcel and express services in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
History
![Airbus A300B4-203(F), DHL (European Air Transport - EAT) AN0569043](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Airbus_A300B4-203%28F%29%2C_DHL_%28European_Air_Transport_-_EAT%29_AN0569043.jpg)
European Air Transport was founded in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in 1971 as an air taxi service. EAT was created by two pilots, Pirlot de Corbion and Dessain. EAT started with two aircraft, a
Beechcraft Queen Air
The Beechcraft Queen Air is a twin-engined light aircraft produced by Beechcraft in several versions from 1960 to 1978. Based upon the Twin Bonanza, with which it shared key components such as wings, engines, and tail surfaces, but featuring ...
and a Gardan Horizon. In response to the need for pilots in the Belgian market, EAT began a pilot training school. In 1973, EAT was the first Piper Flying Centre in Europe.
EAT expanded its activities by contracting with
DHL Worldwide Express
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DH ...
in 1985. Previously, DHL had selected Brussels Airport as its European hub. The co-operation between EAT and DHL was so successful that in 1986, DHL decided to make EAT part of the DHL group, and thus became the major DHL airline with service to Europe and Africa. On January 19, 1993, EAT became a member of the
International Air Transport Association. In that same year, EAT obtained the necessary permits to transport various dangerous goods and live animals.
In 2002,
Deutsche Post
The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. ...
completed the takeover of DHL, making EAT a wholly owned subsidiary.
In October 2004, Deutsche Post announced that Brussels Airport would no longer be DHL's major hub for Europe starting in 2008. This was due to the failure of the Belgian Federal Government and Deutsche Post to reach an agreement on a framework to permit DHL to expand its future flight operations. As a consequence, Deutsche Post decided to make
Leipzig/Halle Airport
Leipzig/Halle Airport (German: ''Flughafen Leipzig/Halle'') is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.
It is Germany's 14th largest airport by passengers and ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
its international hub, with daily flights to all major cities in Europe. EAT's headquarters were located in
Schkeuditz. EAT has a license for scheduled and unscheduled cargo flights all over the world.
Through a merger agreement dated February 10, 2010, European Air Transport N.V. was dissolved, and its assets incorporated by the
European Air Transport Leipzig
European Air Transport Leipzig GmbH, often shortened to EAT Leipzig or EAT-LEJ, is a German cargo airline with its head office and main hub on the grounds of Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz. It is wholly owned by Deutsche Post and operates ...
GmbH. They merged in March 26, 2010.
Fleet
![Boeing 757-236(SF), DHL (European Air Transport - EAT) AN0433283](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Boeing_757-236%28SF%29%2C_DHL_%28European_Air_Transport_-_EAT%29_AN0433283.jpg)
European Air Transport had formerly operated the following aircraft:
Accidents and incidents
On November 22, 2003, an
Airbus A300B4-200F (registered as OO-DLL) was struck on the left wing tip by a
surface-to-air missile shortly after takeoff from Baghdad, Iraq. The damage resulted in a fire and complete loss of hydraulic flight control systems. The crew returned to Baghdad, there were no injuries.
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of Belgium
This is a list of defunct airlines of Belgium.
See also
* List of airlines of Belgium
* List of airports in Belgium
References
{{List of defunct airlines
*
Belgium
Airlines
An airline is a company that provides air transport s ...
References
6."2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident", ''Wikipedia'', 2021-03-21, retrieved 2021-04-08
http://www.cmb.be/business-structure.html#ASL Aviation
External links
*
DHL
{{Airlines of Belgium
Defunct airlines of Belgium
Airlines established in 1971
Airlines disestablished in 2010
Defunct cargo airlines
DHL
Belgian companies established in 1971
Zaventem
Cargo airlines of Belgium
Companies based in Flemish Brabant
2010 disestablishments in Belgium