Belgocontrol opens its doors

On Sunday 4 October Belgocontrol will participate in the Open Companies Day. That day, visitors will have the unique opportunity to step behind the scenes of air traffic control as it is performed at and around Brussels Airport and in the skies above Belgium.

Belgocontrol receives a lot of requests from various interested parties to visit our site at Steenokkerzeel, but for organisational and safety reasons, we cannot accede to those requests. However, coming Open Companies Day, we will go the extra mile to make sure that as many people as possible can take a look behind the scenes of our services. But on that day as well, safety will remain our main focus.

Guided tours
Visitors can make their choice between two different guided tours. One will take them along the training centre, where they can test their own skills flying an aeroplane or as an air traffic controller on our simulators and along the CANAC 2 air traffic control centre, where air traffic in the Belgian airspace under 24,500 feet is managed. The second tour takes our guests up in the air traffic control tower for a visit to our meteorological service and to the tenth floor, where they can see how our air traffic controllers guarantee the traffic safety at and around the airport.

At various other locations, our visitors will receive information about the overall functioning of Belgocontrol. Our staff will provide explanations using ATC consoles that will be set up especially for Open Companies Day. We will also show films about our company and the inner workings of tower air traffic control.

Visitors who pay attention will be rewarded: they can participate in our Open Companies Day contest by simply filling out an entry form. Among the right answers, the winners will be drawn at random and our happy few will be invited at a later time for a helicopter flight over the airport.

Registration obligatory
For capacity reasons, there is a limited number of people who can visit the tower (8 visitors every 10 minutes) as well as CANAC 2 and the training centre (20 visitors every 10 minutes). That is why we have to limit the number of visitors to Open Companies Day and we have opted for a registration system. Members of the public who wish to come and take a tour at Belgocontrol can register on the Open Companies Day website as from 9 a.m. on Tuesday 15 September. When registering you also choose between our two suggested guided tours. Better sign up fast!

The lucky ones receive a confirmation mail afterwards. It will contain practical details such as the time of your visit and how long in advance you have to be present, parking possibilities and safety regulations. We regret to inform you that children under 6 are not allowed (we donot provide childcare either).

Practical details
Sunday 4 October 2015, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tervuursesteenweg 303, 1820 Steenokkerzeel
Register through www.openbedrijvendag.be
Additional info on www.belgocontrol.be

Thursday 10 September 2015