Brussels Airport (BRU) infrastructure: future

[OO-ITR]

Another convenient location is the DHL building near the 'bus station'. Would be alsoan ideal location for airline's offices.

Not sure what the plan with this building/area is...

[RoMax]

Another convenient location is the DHL building near the 'bus station'. Would be alsoan ideal location for airline's offices.

Not sure what the plan with this building/area is...

Isn't that around the location that could be part of a future possible new terminal in BRU's (very) long term plans? Or do I mix up locations now?

[Boavida]

Talking about BRU infrastructure, how is the arrival curb nowadays?

It is OK now. Good lighting and the road has got a new pavement.

That's all?

Still with those cheap plastic poles?

[OO-ITR]

Another convenient location is the DHL building near the 'bus station'. Would be alsoan ideal location for airline's offices.

Not sure what the plan with this building/area is...

Isn't that around the location that could be part of a future possible new terminal in BRU's (very) long term plans? Or do I mix up locations now?

Yes I think so. It is the building next to the bus stands.

[Atlantis]

It's a pity that a building in such a location is devoted to something else than aviation. Afterwards, when Brussels Airport or Brussels Airlines or any other aviation-related company will look for an expansion at the airport, they will have to look for a far-away location.

Brussels Airport offered to a lot of big airlines the opportunity to move their location to the old terminal: Brussels Airlines, Jet Airways, Jetairfly, etc, etc.

None of them were interested and Brussels Airport made the absolute right decision to attract a non-aviation company to this location and to give them a prestige location for them and their customers.

Not to offend you but airports are not longer territory of only airlines, handlers etc. That's something of the past century. Today it is an international pool to meet people and to take the plane again.

With Deloitte they have a customer for many years. Who can say that of airlines? Will Jet Airways stay here for many years? What with Brussels Airlines? You will create then a lot of space, huge investments but you are not sure of them.

So Brussels Airport made the only right decision and it will be a new mark on the airport.

[Atlantis]

Talking about BRU infrastructure, how is the arrival curb nowadays? I haven't been there since the renovation so I don't know. I also didn't find any pictures of it. Is it even renovated?

You can see the 'old' situation on Streetview: https://www.google.be/maps/@50.896925,4 ... vrjEEA!2e0

It looks absolutely disgraceful. Old, ugly, dark, small, unsafe,... Absolutely shameful for a modern airport.

The arrival curb is a totally new, renovated place. New lights, ceiling, clean BUT it's only a place where taxi's are allowed, not any longer a place where you can pick up pax like family and so on. You can't reach it anymore by your own car.

So everybody goes now, already for a while, via departing where you can pick up family, friends.

[Atlantis]

Another convenient location is the DHL building near the 'bus station'. Would be alsoan ideal location for airline's offices.

Not sure what the plan with this building/area is...

That huge DHL building is totally empty for a while now. It will be the place for the new Terminal 2 but not before 2020. Terminal 2 will be the terminal for Star Alliance.

[Lysexpat]

So everybody goes now, already for a while, via departing where you can pick up family, friends.

This creates a traffic jam on the way to the "kiss and fly" park as 75% of the drop off spaces are occupied by people waiting to pick up arriving passengers. Cars dropping off people are stopping al over the place blocking the roads and side walks.
Something needs to be done about this as it is very customer unfriendly and even dangerous at times.

[sn26567]

In the near future the departures curb is to be closed as well...

Do you have more information about this? It looks weird that no private car could come close to the terminal to bring or fetch passengers.

[Conti764]

In the near future the departures curb is to be closed as well...

Do you have more information about this? It looks weird that no private car could come close to the terminal to bring or fetch passengers.

The same system as on the arrivals curb and on many other airports and since a long time in the plans... You can still drop off or pick up people close to the airport, but it will be impossible to park. The theory is that if you want to park at the airport, you'll have to go to one of the parking buildings.

[OO-ITR]

The theory is that if you want to park at the airport, you'll have to go to one of the parking buildings.

I hope that BRU will at least have a customer oriented approach and offer the first half hour for free. Because if you have to pay a full hour just to drop someone off, that is just a rip off!

[airazurxtror]

At Gosselies, it's 1 euro minimum to drop off somebody (if you stay less than 15 min).

[White Light]

The theory is that if you want to park at the airport, you'll have to go to one of the parking buildings.

In theory that is also the case already now. Only, people use the drop off (kiss & fly) as a parking lot because there is no 24/7 supervision and when there is (police or other), they are too laxist and let people park and leave their cars unattended.

The solution is easy : offer the first ten minutes free of charge at the drop off area and charge 1 euro for every extra minute.

[OO-ITR]

At Gosselies, it's 1 euro minimum to drop off somebody (if you stay less than 15 min).

CRL is a bit for if you want to drop someone off at BRU...lol

[JOVAN]

Talking about BRU infrastructure, how is the arrival curb nowadays? I haven't been there since the renovation so I don't know. I also didn't find any pictures of it. Is it even renovated?

You can see the 'old' situation on Streetview: https://www.google.be/maps/@50.896925,4 ... vrjEEA!2e0

It looks absolutely disgraceful. Old, ugly, dark, small, unsafe,... Absolutely shameful for a modern airport.

The arrival curb is a totally new, renovated place. New lights, ceiling, clean BUT it's only a place where taxi's are allowed, not any longer a place where you can pick up pax like family and so on. You can't reach it anymore by your own car.

So everybody goes now, already for a while, via departing where you can pick up family, friends.

Forgive me for having another opinion.

After almost two years of works, the arrival curb does not look so much better.
hardly any renovation, except some white paint and a few light bulbs replaced.

This place still gives a poor, un-welcoming impression of our country.
And remains dirty and ugly.
Still disgraceful.

[Stij]

In the US a lot of airports have cell phone parkings: you park, when your party is on the curb, they call, you drive up the curb, pick them up and that's all! Works perfectly!

To be honest, I'm one of those guys picking up people on departure level, my "cell phone lot" is the center of Zaventem and if I don't find a parking spot, I drive around... Unless it's late in the evening when there're no more departures, then I wait on the departure level.

But I refuse to pay the parking (if you find any)...

Cheers,

Stij

[Inquirer]

Talking about BRU infrastructure, how is the arrival curb nowadays? I haven't been there since the renovation so I don't know. I also didn't find any pictures of it. Is it even renovated?

You can see the 'old' situation on Streetview: https://www.google.be/maps/@50.896925,4 ... vrjEEA!2e0

It looks absolutely disgraceful. Old, ugly, dark, small, unsafe,... Absolutely shameful for a modern airport.

The arrival curb is a totally new, renovated place. New lights, ceiling, clean BUT it's only a place where taxi's are allowed, not any longer a place where you can pick up pax like family and so on. You can't reach it anymore by your own car.

So everybody goes now, already for a while, via departing where you can pick up family, friends.

Forgive me for having another opinion.

After almost two years of works, the arrival curb does not look so much better.
hardly any renovation, except some white paint and a few light bulbs replaced.

This place still gives a poor, un-welcoming impression of our country.
And remains dirty and ugly.
Still disgraceful.

The problem with it is the same as can be found elsewhere in the design of the current terminal too: it's too low ceiling.

Today, terminals are not only big in floor space, they are also open spaces, with high ceilings and lots of glass.

For one reason or another, at BRU, the architect doing the plans forthe terminal thought that it would be ok to have the opposite: no idea why that was done.
Was it to keep building costs under control, or because there was a legal limit set on the hight/volume?
Regardless the reason, it makes the facilities look cramped and dark due to the too low ceiling once you make it past the departure screens due to the lack of volume and natural light sources.

In a perfect word, the entire check in area would have had a ceiling as high as at its entry and a glass roof top to bring in day light; in the absence of it, it feels more like a subway station, not an airport.

Luckily the A pier doesn't come with this mistake and one can only hope that when Brussels airport starts working on their new terminal 2 talked about above, that it will be looking pretty much like that too, and not like the current one.

[Stij]

Hi Inquirer,

For the departure level this is valid, but I'm afraid that the height for the arrival level was already decided back in the 50's when the old terminal was built...

But Brussels isn't the worst, wait until you visit BBI... the departure level is fine, but the arrival level is worse than Brussels...

Cheers,

Stij

[b-west]

The problem with it is the same as can be found elsewhere in the design of the current terminal too: it's too low ceiling.

Today, terminals are not only big in floor space, they are also open spaces, with high ceilings and lots of glass.

For one reason or another, at BRU, the architect doing the plans for the terminal thought that it would be ok to have the opposite: no idea why that was done.
Was it to keep building costs under control, or because there was a legal limit set on the hight/volume?
Regardless the reason, it makes the facilities look cramped and dark due to the too low ceiling once you make it past the departure screens due to the lack of volume and natural light sources.

In a perfect word, the entire check in area would have had a ceiling as high as at its entry and a glass roof top to bring in day light; in the absence of it, it feels more like a subway station, not an airport.

Totally agree, check-in area, arrivals, luggage belts and the curb, they all have a way too low ceiling, combined with the dark colors of the floor to make for a depressing and unpleasant place to be. The only places that feel nice are the entrance of the departure area, where the ceiling is very high and, surprisingly, the old terminal that has been renovated and now serves as the checkin for JAF and others. It has become a very bright space, with high ceilings, iso a claustrophobic "subway station"

[sn26567]

wait until you visit BBI...

That is, if it will ever be possible to visit BBI after so many years of delay after an official opening date had been fixed (with SN the first airline to fly there!)