Ostend–Bruges International Airport, french: Aéroport International d'Oostende-Bruges, german: Internationale Flughafen Ostende-Brügge , commonly known simply as Ostend Airport,, french: Aéroport d'Oostende, german: Flughafen Ostende is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

located south southwest of

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

in the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and t ...

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 ...

, near the coast and about from the city centre of

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

. Although freight transport is the focus of a large proportion of its activities, the airport is increasingly used for passenger flights, mainly

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

and holiday flights organised by tour operators. It is also often used for private business flights.

History

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

moved the airfield of Ostend-Stene to a site in the territory of the municipality of

Middelkerke Middelkerke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, on the North Sea, west of Ostend. The municipality comprises the villages of Leffinge, Lombardsijde, Mannekensvere, Middelkerke proper, Schore, Sint-Pieters-Kapell ...

, five kilometres southwest of Ostend. It played a major role in the air battle with Britain. After the war, the airport of Raversijde-Middelkerke was turned into an international airport by the Department of Airways which had been established by that time. In 1992, the ownership of the regional Flemish airport was transferred from the Belgian State to the

. The airport was given a new name: "Ostend–Bruges International Airport". On 23 May 2003, Mr. Gino Vanspauwen was appointed CEO/Managing Director of Ostend–Bruges International Airport by the

Flemish government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...

. He effectively took up his duties on 1 June 2003. The airport was operated by the Department of Mobility and Public Works of the

. The

Flemish Government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...

made an agreement with

Egis Group Egis is an international company active in the consulting, construction engineering and mobility service sectors that design and operate intelligent infrastructure and buildings. Egis operates in 120 countries and has 16,200 employees. History ...

to operate it starting 2014 for a duration of 25 years. Between May and December 2003, Ryanair operated a route between Ostend and London-Stansted. For 2015, Jetairfly began service to a number of new destinations from Ostend. In the summer season of 2015, Jetairfly operated services to a total 20 destinations. As of summer 2017, these services are operated under the new name of

TUI fly Belgium TUI fly Belgium, legally incorporated as ''TUI Airlines Belgium S.A./N.V.'' and formerly branded ''Jetairfly'', is a Belgian scheduled and charter airline with its registered office at Brussels Airport. The airline is a subsidiary of the TUI G ...

, with 21 destinations.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and seasonal flights at Ostend–Bruges International Airport:

Cargo

Statistics

Ground transportation

By car

The airport is located next to the N318 and N341 national roads.

By bus

Bus 6 connects the airport to Ostend's city centre as well as

Ostend railway station Oostende railway station ( nl, Station Oostende, french: Gare d'Ostende, IATA code: ZGJ), officially Oostende, is a railway station in Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. It is operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB). History ...

which operates intercity trains to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and Liege. The bus is operated by

De Lijn Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (English: Flemish transport company ''De Lijn''), usually known as De Lijn (, "The Line"), is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation with about 2240 buses and 399 tr ...

Accidents and incidents

*On 16 November 1937, a

Junkers Ju 52/3m Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

of the Belgian airline

Sabena The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its ba ...

crashed on approach due to bad weather. The aircraft flew against a chimney of a brickyard in Stene. All 11 passengers and crew, including Georg Donatus and his family, were killed. *On 21 July 1992,

Douglas DC-3C The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

LX-DKT of Legend Air was damaged beyond repair when it was blown into

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

Z-WKV during a storm. As of 28 July 2010, the aircraft was still at the airport.LX-DKT at Oostende, 15 June 2008
Nicholas Janssen. Retrieved on 28 June 2010 * On 26 July 1997 during an airshow taking place at the airport, a Jordanian stunt pilot, Captain Omar Hani Bilal of the

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; ar, سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, Silāḥ ul-Jawu al-Malakī 'al-Urdunī) is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. History Early days Jordan gained independence in 19 ...

display team, the Royal Jordanian Falcons, was killed when he lost control of his Walter Extra EA300s. His plane crashed at the end of the runway and burst into flames near a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

tent and spectator stands. On the ground, eight were killed and forty injured. * November 14: An IAT Boeing 707 took off from Oostende Airport but crashed into the ground within a few minutes. It was a cargo flight and there were no deaths. *On 18 April 2001, an

Ilyushin Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a comm ...

overran the runway after an aborted take-off. The aircraft got stuck in the grass and hit the ground with the left wing. The plane would never fly again and was scrapped 2 years later at the airport.

References

Notes

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostend-Bruges International Airport Airports in West Flanders Buildings and structures in Bruges Ostend