Ostend–Bruges International Airport

Ostend–Bruges International Airport
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IATA: OST – ICAO: EBOS OST Location of airport in Belgium
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Flemish Region
Operator	Department of Mobility and Public Works of the Flemish government
Serves	Bruges and Ostend
Location	Ostend, Belgium
Elevation AMSL	13 ft / 4 m
Coordinates
Website	ost.aero
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 08/26 10,499 3,200 Asphalt
Statistics (2013)
Freight (tonnes) 64,041 t Passengers 247 669 Aircraft movements 45.875

Ostend–Bruges International Airport (in Dutch: Internationale Luchthaven Oostende-Brugge; commonly: Ostend Airport) is an international airport located in Ostend, Belgium, near the coast and about 25 km from the city centre of Bruges. Although freight transport is the focus of a large proportion of its activities, the airport is increasingly used for passenger flights, mainly charter and holiday flights organised by tour operators. It is also often used for private business flights.

History

Early years

During the Second World War, the German occupiers moved the airfield of Ostend-Stene to a site in the territory of the municipality of Middelkerke, five kilometres southwest of Ostend. It played a major role in the air battle with Britain. After the war, the airport of Raversijde-Middelkerke was turned into an international airport by the Department of Airways which had been established by that time.

In 1992, the ownership of the regional Flemish airport was transferred from the Belgian State to the Flemish Region.

Development since the 2000s

File:Oostende - Airport 1.jpg

Main building

On 1 May 2003, Ryanair started a new route between Ostend and London–Stansted. The airport was given a new name: "Ostend–Bruges International Airport". However, Ryanair stopped operating the route in December 2003.

On 23 May 2003, Mr. Gino Vanspauwen was appointed CEO/Managing Director of Ostend–Bruges International Airport by the Flemish government. He effectively took up his duties on 1 June 2003. The airport is operated by the Department of Mobility and Public Works of the Flemish government. The Flemish Government made an agreement with Egis Group to operate it starting 2014 for a duration of 25 years.

For 2015, Jetairfly began service to a number of new destinations from Ostend. In the summer season of 2015, Jetairfly operated services to a total 20 destinations.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Freebird Airlines	Seasonal charter: Antalya, Bodrum, Izmir
Jetairfly	Alicante, Barcelona, Gran Canaria, Málaga, Rome–Fiumicino Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum, Burgas (begins 2 May 2016), Djerba, Enfidha, Heraklion, Izmir, Kos, Nice (begins 25 March 2016), Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Tenerife–South, Tirana, Varna (begins 2 May 2016)
Tunisair	Seasonal: Enfidha, Tunis
Tailwind Airlines	Seasonal charter: Antalya, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Allied Air	Benghazi, Entebbe, Lagos, Miami, Nairobi
DHL Aviation	Leipzig/Halle, Malta
EgyptAir Cargo	Cairo, Cologne/Bonn, Tripoli

Other facilities

The operations department of the airline Meridian Airways is Suites 150–154 of the Freight Building.

Accidents and incidents

• On 21 July 1992, Douglas DC-3C LX-DKT of Legend Air was damaged beyond repair when it was blown into Boeing 707 Z-WKV during a storm. As of 28 July 2010, the aircraft was still at Oostende.
• On 26 July 1997 during an airshow taking place at the airport, a Jordanian stunt pilot, Captain Omar Hani Bilal of the Jordanian Air Force display team, the Royal Jordanian Falcons, was killed when he lost control of his Walter Extra EA300s. His plane crashed at the end of the runway and burst into flames near a Red Cross tent and spectator stands. On the ground, eight were killed and forty injured.

See also

• Transport in Belgium

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Ostend–Bruges International Airport