Ostend–Bruges International Airport , commonly known simply as Ostend Airport, is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

located south southwest of

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, near the coast and about from central

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

. 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 ...

and holiday flights organised by tour operators. It is also often used for private business flights. The airport covers about of land and has one runway.

History

Foundation and early years

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

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

moved the airfield of Ostend-Stene to a site in the territory of the municipality of Middelkerke, 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 1971, Pomair (Formerly known as Transpomair) opened out of the airport operating flights to the Caribbean, Asia and South America. The airline ceased operations in 1974 with a fleet of 3. In 1992, the ownership of the regional Flemish airport was transferred from the Belgian State to the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

and the airport was given a new name: "Ostend–Bruges International Airport".

Development since the 2000s

On 23 May 2003, Gino Vanspauwen was appointed CEO/Managing Director of Ostend–Bruges International Airport by the

Flemish government The Flemish Government ( ) 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 of Flanders, Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Par ...

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

. They 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 100 countries and has 19,500 employees. In the g ...

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, with 21 destinations. In March 2019, Russian airline Pobeda opened a route between Ostend and Moscow Vnukovo. In July Pobeda scrapped the route. While there were talks about re-opening in early 2020 however, this never materialized.

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 60 connects the airport to Ostend's city centre as well as Ostend railway station which operates intercity trains to

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and Liege. The bus is operated by De Lijn.

Accidents and incidents

* On 16 November 1937, a Junkers Ju 52/3m of the Belgian airline Sabena crashed on approach due to bad weather. The aircraft flew into 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 LX-DKT of Legend Air was damaged beyond repair when it was blown into

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial first flew on Decembe ...

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 at the airport, a Jordanian stunt pilot, Captain Omar Hani Bilal of the

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; Arabic: سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, ''Silāḥ al-Jaww al-Malakī al-ʾUrdunī'') is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. Founded in 1955, the RJAF serves as the primary ...

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 organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

tent and spectator stands. On the ground, eight people were killed and forty injured. * On 14 November 1998, an IAT Boeing 707 crashed into the ground within minutes of take-off from Oostende Airport. It was a cargo flight and there were no deaths. * On 18 April 2001, an Ilyushin Il-76 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.

Notes

References

External links

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