Antwerp International Airport Explained

Antwerp International Airport
Nativename:
Iata:ANR
Icao:EBAW
Type:Public
Owner:Flemish Region
Operator:Egis Group
City-Served:Antwerp
Location:Deurne, Antwerp Province, Belgium
Focus City:TUI fly Belgium
Elevation-F:39
Coordinates:51.1894°N 4.4603°W
Pushpin Map:Belgium
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Antwerp International Airport
Pushpin Label:ANR/EBAW
Pushpin Label Position:left
Metric-Rwy:yes
R1-Number:11/29
R1-Length-M:1,510
R1-Surface:Asphalt
R2-Number:11/29
R2-Length-M:600
R2-Surface:Grass
Footnotes:Sources: Belgian AIP

Antwerp International Airport, commonly known simply as Antwerp Airport, is a small international airport located 2.9NM south of Antwerp, Belgium. The airport is used for some scheduled and charter flights, as well as business and general aviation, and served 239,517 passengers in 2022.[1]

History

Early years

After the first flying events at the Wilrijkse Plein, work on a proper airport for the city started in 1921, under the impulse of pioneer aviator Jan Olieslagers and others. The national airline Sabena operated passenger services from 1924 from an old railway carriage as the only passenger infrastructure. A proper airport terminal was ordered by minister Maurice Lippens and inaugurated in 1930.

The airport was home to the aircraft factory Stampe et Vertongen until its demise after World War II.

During World War II, the airport was used by the Luftwaffe and also served the nearby Erla aircraft factory. After the German retreat in 1944, it saw brief use by Allied air forces, who called it Advanced Landing Ground B-70.

Development since 2000

Antwerp Airport was home to VLM Airlines since the end of 2014, since independence from CityJet. VLM was offering flights from Antwerp to Hamburg and Friedrichshafen and was flying on behalf of CityJet on the route Antwerp – London City. However, the airline declared bankruptcy on 22 June 2016 due to cancellations of ACMI contracts by People's. Due to VLM's demise, their ACMI customer CityJet handed over the operations of VLM's former service from London City Airport to Antwerp to Danish Air Transport. The Antwerp to Hamburg service was taken over by Chalair Aviation but has been discontinued.

On 6 August 2018, the revived VLM Airlines announced the termination of five scheduled routes with another new one not commencing in the coming weeks and that instead it would focus on charter operations.[2] On 31 August 2018 however, VLM Airlines announced the immediate stop of all of their operations from Antwerp.[3] [4]

After the demise of VLM, Air Antwerp was created. It announced a thrice-daily service to London City Airport from September 2019. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline announced the suspension of the route as of May 2021[5] before shutting down altogether in June 2021.

Infrastructure

Facilities

The airport consists of one small passenger terminal with basic facilities including service desks, a small bar/coffeeshop in the entrance hall and at the gate, and a bar/restaurant with a terrace. The apron features ten stands for smaller airliners such as the Fokker 50. As there are no jet bridges, walk-boarding is used. Due to its short runway length of only just over 1500m (4,900feet), it is not possible to operate aircraft larger than the Boeing 757 at the airport.

Operator

The airport was operated by the Department of Mobility and Public Works of the Flemish Government which made an agreement with the French engineering group Egis Group to operate it for 25 years, starting in 2014.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and seasonal flights at Antwerp International Airport:[6]

The nearest larger international airports are Brussels Airport, approximately 40km (30miles) to the south, and Eindhoven Airport, approximately 80km (50miles) to the northeast.

Statistics

Year Passenger volume Change over previous year Aircraft operations Change over previous year Cargo (tonnes) Change over previous year
2023259,764
2022239,517
2021146,858
202088,036
2019306,330 2.66% 36,372 7.80% 2608.0 6.10%
2018298,403 9.23% 39,465 5.21% 2454.0 6.28%
2017273,167 1.15% 37,509 9.40% 2202.6 1.04%
2016276,311 24.95% 41,401 8.60% 2179.9 41.21%
2015221,138 82.22% 45,296 3.58% 1543.7 355.64%
2014121,357 11.43% 43,732 0.86% 338.8 5.32%
2013137,015 2.23% 43,361 7.67% 357.0 16.71%
2012140,140 15.62% 46,962 10.89% 428.6 1.28%
2011166,078 1.99% 52,701 1.93% 423.2 0.45%
2010162,840 3.90% 51,703 14.21% 421.3 8.25%
2009169,446 4.25% 60,266 7.48% 459.2 17.44%
2008176,971 1.21% 56,072 8.69% 556.2 4.71%
2007174,858 18.27% 51,589 6.24% 531.2 22.17%
2006147,849 3.58% 55,023 0.28% 682.5 46.33%
2005142,737 6.51% 54,871 5.61% 466.4 8.95%
2004152,682 9.72% 58,132 9.61% 428.1 13.55%

Source numbers 2004-2014: Antwerp Airport ″Annual report 2014″ [1]
Source numbers 2014–present: Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport: ″Airport statistics″ [7]

Ground transportation

Buses 51, 52 and 53 connect the airport with the Antwerpen-Berchem railway station which operates local, intercity and international trains. These buses are operated by De Lijn.

Other uses

The airport is home to several flying schools, aircraft maintenance and repair workshops, operators of business jets, to several hangars for private aircraft, and to the Stampe en Vertongen Museum.

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The recent statistics. 10 August 2023.
  2. https://www.hln.be/reizen/vlm-snoeit-in-aanbod-lijnvluchten-vanuit-antwerpen-op-twee-na-alle-bestemmingen-geschrapt~a45050a3/ hln.be - VLM snoeit in aanbod lijnvluchten vanuit Antwerpen: op twee na alle bestemmingen geschrapt
  3. Web site: Aviation24.be - Latest News & Breaking Stories - Discussion Forums. Aviation24.be. 31 August 2018 .
  4. Web site: VLM Airlines zet activiteiten stop: alle vluchten worden meteen geschrapt. VRT. NWS. 31 August 2018. vrtnws.be.
  5. https://www.aerotelegraph.com/air-antwerp-mottet-ihr-einziges-flugzeug-ein aerotelegraph.com
  6. Web site: Timetable . Antwerp International Airport . 19 February 2020.
  7. Web site: Statistische gegevens van de luchthavens - FOD Mobiliteit . mobilit.belgium.be . 6 April 2018 . 2 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221202001348/https://mobilit.belgium.be/nl/luchtvaart/luchthavens_en_luchtvaartterreinen/statistieken . dead .
  8. Web site: DJ Afrojack Cessna. Citation Overruns Antwerp Airport Runway. 2022-09-11 . Aviation Source. 9 September 2022 .