Antwerp International Airport

Antwerp International Airport[a] (IATA: ANR, ICAO: EBAW), commonly known simply as Antwerp Airport,[b] is a small international airport located 2.9 nautical miles (5.4 km; 3.3 mi) south of Antwerp, Belgium.[1] The airport is used for some scheduled and charter flights, as well as business and general aviation, and served 239,517 passengers in 2022.[2]

Antwerp International Airport

Internationale Luchthaven Antwerpen
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerFlemish Region
OperatorEgis Group
ServesAntwerp
LocationDeurne, Antwerp Province, Belgium
Focus city forTUI fly Belgium
Elevation AMSL39 ft / 12 m
Coordinates51°11′22″N 004°27′37″E / 51.18944°N 4.46028°E / 51.18944; 4.46028
Websiteantwerp-airport.be
Map
ANR/EBAW is located in Belgium
ANR/EBAW
ANR/EBAW
Location of Antwerp International Airport
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 1,510 4,954 Asphalt
11/29 600 1,969 Grass
Sources: Belgian AIP[1]

History

edit
 
Aerial view

Early years

edit

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. In 1929, the first stone of the project was laid by the Minister of Railway Transport, Maurice Lippens.[3]

The airport was home to the aircraft factory Stampe et Vertongen until its demise after World War II.[3]

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

edit

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.[4] On 31 August 2018 however, VLM Airlines announced the immediate stop of all of their operations from Antwerp.[5]

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[6] before shutting down altogether in June 2021.

Infrastructure

edit

Facilities

edit

The airport consists of one small passenger terminal with basic facilities including service desks, a small bar/coffee shop 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 1,500 m (4,900 ft), it is not possible to operate aircraft larger than the Boeing 757 at the airport.

Operator

edit

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

edit

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and seasonal flights at Antwerp International Airport:[7]

AirlinesDestinations
ASL Fly Executive Seasonal: Ibiza[8]
SkyAlps Bolzano[9]
TUI fly Belgium[10] Alicante, Málaga, Nador, Tangier,[11][better source needed] Tenerife–South[12][13]
Seasonal: Antalya,[14][13] Gran Canaria,[13] Heraklion,[15][13] Ibiza, Innsbruck, Oujda,[16] Palma de Mallorca, Split

The nearest larger international airports are Brussels Airport, approximately 40 km (25 mi) to the south, and Eindhoven Airport, approximately 80 km (50 mi) to the northeast.

Statistics

edit
Annual passenger traffic at ANR airport. See Wikidata query.
Year Passenger volume Change over previous year Aircraft operations Change over previous year Cargo (tonnes) Change over previous year
2023 259,764  
2022 239,517  
2021 146,858  
2020 88,036  
2019 306,330  02.66% 36,372  07.80% 2608.0  06.10%
2018 298,403  09.23% 39,465  05.21% 2454.0  06.28%
2017 273,167  01.15% 37,509  09.40% 2202.6  01.04%
2016 276,311  024.95% 41,401  08.60% 2179.9  041.21%
2015 221,138  082.22% 45,296  03.58% 1543.7  0355.64%
2014 121,357  011.43% 43,732  00.86% 338.8  05.32%
2013 137,015  02.23% 43,361  07.67% 357.0  016.71%
2012 140,140  015.62% 46,962  010.89% 428.6  01.28%
2011 166,078  01.99% 52,701  01.93% 423.2  00.45%
2010 162,840  03.90% 51,703  014.21% 421.3  08.25%
2009 169,446  04.25% 60,266  07.48% 459.2  017.44%
2008 176,971  01.21% 56,072  08.69% 556.2  04.71%
2007 174,858  018.27% 51,589  06.24% 531.2  022.17%
2006 147,849  03.58% 55,023  00.28% 682.5  046.33%
2005 142,737  06.51% 54,871  05.61% 466.4  08.95%
2004 152,682  09.72% 58,132  09.61% 428.1  013.55%

Source numbers 2004-2014: Antwerp Airport ″Annual report 2014″[17]

Source numbers 2014–present: Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport: ″Airport statistics″ [18]

Ground transportation

edit

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

edit

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

edit
  • On September 8, 2022, a Cessna Citation business jet operated by GlobeAir overshot runway 11 while landing at Antwerp. Nobody onboard, including Dutch DJ Afrojack, was injured, and the aircraft reportedly did not sustain damage. As of September 2022, the incident is under investigation.[19]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b EBAW – ANTWERPEN / Deurne (also PDF). Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) from AIM Belgium via skeyes.
  2. ^ "Almost 260,000 passengers used Antwerp Airport last year". VRT NWS. Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie. 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b "About Antwerp Airport". Antwerp International Airport. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  4. ^ "VLM snoeit in aanbod lijnvluchten vanuit Antwerpen: op twee na alle bestemmingen geschrapt". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018.
  5. ^ Saerens, Zico (31 August 2018). "VLM Airlines zet activiteiten stop: alle vluchten worden meteen geschrapt". VRT NWS (in Dutch and Flemish). Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  6. ^ Wunderlich, Lukas (10 May 2021). "Air Antwerp mottet ihr einziges Flugzeug ein". aeroTELEGRAPH (in Swiss High German). Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Timetable". Antwerp International Airport. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  8. ^ "ASL Fly Executive". Flyexecutive.be. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. ^ "SkyAlps confirms winter schedule to Bolzano/Bozen from Antwerp Airport". 8 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Flight plan". tuifly.be. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  11. ^ "TUI fly postpones launch of direct Antwerp-Tel Aviv flights again". www.brusselstimes.com. The Brussels Times. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  12. ^ https://www.tuifly.be/flight/en/search?flyingFrom%5B%5D=ANR&flyingTo%5B%5D=TFS&depDate=2025-03-08&adults=1&children=0&childAge=&choiceSearch=true&searchType=pricegrid&nearByAirports=true&currency=EUR&isOneWay=false&returnDate=2025-03-15 [bare URL]
  13. ^ a b c d Liu, Jim. "TUIfly Belgium 2H23 Antwerp Network Addition Summary". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Flights from Antwerp to Antalya | TUI fly".
  15. ^ https://www.tuifly.be/flight/en/search?flyingFrom%5B%5D=ANR&flyingTo%5B%5D=HER&depDate=2024-10-02&adults=1&children=0&childAge=&choiceSearch=true&searchType=pricegrid&nearByAirports=true&currency=EUR&isOneWay=false&returnDate=2024-10-06 [bare URL]
  16. ^ "TUI fly Belgium launches twice-weekly flights between Antwerp and Oujda, Morocco". 8 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Statistics". Antwerp International Airport. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Statistische gegevens van de luchthavens". Federale Overheidsdienst Mobiliteit en Vervoer (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  19. ^ Noëth, Bart (9 September 2022). "Afrojack's private jet overshoots runway at Antwerp Airport; no injuries". Aviation24. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Dutch: Internationale Luchthaven Antwerpen, French: Aéroport International d'Anvers, German: Internationale Flughafen Antwerpen
  2. ^ Dutch: Luchthaven Antwerpen, French: Aéroport d'Anvers, German: Flughafen Antwerpen
edit

  Media related to Antwerp Airport at Wikimedia Commons