Brussels Airport - terminal B observations

[Frederic_K]

Hiya,

Some key observations when flying Brussels Airport - terminal B.
Even though I travel through terminal A quite a lot, I was surprised to see the vast amount of changes in terminal B.

> I was aware of security to terminal B being in the Connector, but the border control was new to me. e-gates did not seem to work properly.

> being forced to walk through the duty free shop -similar to terminal A- is a pet hate to me

> I did not find the way "up" in the plaza, whereas you used to were able to go up, see some planes. Does anyone know if it's permanently closed?

> whilst doing some mails I started paying attention to passenger announcements: apparently the intercom is not split: even though we were in terminal B they kept announcing "we are now closing gate Axx". Out of luck if you're still in the B terminal and your flight is leaving..

> have the gates B80 - B98 been there since the start? Looked pretty cool, much nicer area than the "boring" top floor gates

> a lot of construction was ongoing, anyone knows of any plans what's going to change?

[Yuqu12]

Hello, if you mean the Wingtips restaurant on the 4th floor, it is indeed closed and as far I have heard, it won't reopen again as it is set to become a business lounge.

[Frederic_K]

no i mean after security/border control in terminal B you have the Plaza, and you used to were able to go up and walk around there

[sn26567]

Welcome to Luchtzak, Frederic_K.

I share your concerns.
* eGates aren't working since weeks, if not months. Wondering why they were installed at all. Border Police trying to save their jobs?
* For as far as I know, gates B80-96 have been there since years.
* I didn't know it wasn't possible to go the the upper floor of the Plaza anymore. Though the shops there didn't have a lot of activity and were mostly closed. But now there are scores of new shops downstairs (and a compulsory walk through them...).

[Homo Aeroportus]

...
* eGates aren't working since weeks, if not months. Wondering why they were installed at all. Border Police trying to save their jobs?...

Just ask the "green Jersey" helpers André and you'll have your answer, or rather confirmation.

H.A.

[SFM]

We left to JFK on 22/04, the e-gates were working just fine then...

[Frederic_K]

Funny thing on the eGates: you step into the booth and it was not working. Police man was shouting several times: "number 6 please try again". When going out I had to tell him that from his side numbers are printed on the gates, but if you're inside the booth you don't know which number you are, so hard to react.

Yes the top floor of the plaza can be seen here: it's the one with the purple box indicating "2" .

[Charlie Roy]

> being forced to walk through the duty free shop -similar to terminal A- is a pet hate to me

While I generally tolerate this, Brussels Terminal B is particularly bad.
In fact, I believe it would not a pass a health and safety inspection: too many obstacles in a confined space if there is a need to evacuate a large crowd quickly

[OO-ITR]

We left to JFK on 22/04, the e-gates were working just fine then...

E-gates were working just fine while I was there, but not all passports are valid for the e-gates. In front of me there was a father with his son (younger than 12 years old) trying persistently to scan their passports although it was stated clearly that only passports from 12 years old could be used...

[Stij]

> being forced to walk through the duty free shop -similar to terminal A- is a pet hate to me

Yep, some claim this is a "service improvement". I just hate it... Unfortunately... it's becoming the new standard... not just in Brussels and Charleroi, but everywhere...

Cheers,

Stij

[BRUflyer]

I feel the way the border control is setup in the connector is very weird. Why is there a wall in the middle of the queue for non-eu passengers? The whole queuing system looks so messy and amateuristic. Especially as it is brand new, I feel this is a bit of a missed opportunity. The new store is nice but it is annoying that you have to go through it. I heard the restaurant upstairs is now closed and replaced by one on the ground floor. Can you still go to the panoramadeck though?

[Frederic_K]

> being forced to walk through the duty free shop -similar to terminal A- is a pet hate to me

Yep, some claim this is a "service improvement". I just hate it... Unfortunately... it's becoming the new standard... not just in Brussels and Charleroi, but everywhere...

Cheers,

Stij

A new standard in Belgium...
But if you take Heathrow, Shiphol, Dubai, ... , all of them offer major duty free shops but don't force ppl to walk through

[Frederic_K]

. I heard the restaurant upstairs is now closed and replaced by one on the ground floor. Can you still go to the panoramadeck though?

Yes exactly what I meant, it is no longer possible to go upstairs and visit the panoramadeck.
Pier B "plaza" is all ground-floor now.

[Yuqu12]

Those duty free shops aren't only in Belgium. For example, same situation at Milan Malpensa.