Belgian Red Devils to fly again with Brussels Airlines, but from… Charleroi

Brussels Airlines told Belga on Friday that the Belgian national soccer team (the Red Devils) is to fly with the national carrier for the two next games against Estonia (in Tallinn) and Belarus (in Kazan, Russia), from Charleroi Airport.

The national carrier is going to fly (again) the world’s number 1 soccer team to its next games in Tallinn, Estonia (on 2 September) and Kazan, Russia, against Belarus (as European restrictions against the country still apply), on 8 September, a spokesperson confirmed.

Brussels South Charleroi Airport will welcome these VIP passengers again, two months after their controversial departure from that same airport for EURO 2020 competition. This has been raising many questions, among which one about the choice of the airline, KlasJet, a Lithuanian carrier with unclear background on working conditions, contracts and salaries, suspected of “bogus independence and illegal subcontracting”. Crew members told they had been detained many times by the Belgian authorities when the aircraft carrying the team was at Charleroi Airport.

Brussels Airlines earlier said it was ready to offer Airbus A320 or A330 possibilities but the Royal Belgian Football Association refused until now.

It is not yet sure if the cooperation with Brussels Airlines will continue in the future but discussions are ongoing to make this possibility real. Brussels Airlines was the flying partner of the team for many years and used to fly from Brussels Airport.

An Airbus A320-214, named Trident has even been painted in Red Devils colours a few years ago, as part of the “Belgian Icons” aircraft family. This livery got updated in 2021 with a refresh of the paint and a new logo.