Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is the second largest airport in Belgium in terms of passenger traffic. It is located in Gosselies, 7 kilometers from Charleroi city center and 45 kilometers from the Brussels region. Easily accessible by car, the site has many car parks. It takes around 30 minutes by car from the south of Brussels. The airport is mainly reserved for low cost airlines and light aviation. Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is equipped with a terminal and a 2,550 meter long runway. There are around 100 destinations served mainly to cities in Europe, North Africa and Turkey. Equipped with offices offering a multitude of services and a shopping area, the airport handles annual air traffic with an average of 6.5 million passengers.
Charleroi Airport is one of the smaller airports in Belgium, although its favorable location about 7 km north of the city of Charleroi and 46 km from the center of Brussels makes it very popular in the region. In addition, its location near the A54 and E42 motorways means that the airport is also used by travelers to Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne, which can be reached by car in 2 hours. In order to meet the growing demand, the airport opened a new terminal in 2008, which can handle around 5 million passengers per year. Currently, the airport is used by 7 airlines which provide international and domestic flights. There are hotels near the airport.
Charleroi airport, popular with low-cost airlines
Charleroi Airport is a rapidly expanding airport, with 7,698,767 passengers in 2017. It is reserved mainly for light aviation and low-cost airlines. It has a 2,550 meter long track. Currently, Charleroi airport has three terminals, the main one of which is located north of the runway. It is served by several airlines such as Air Belgium, Ryannair and Air Corsica. Its initial capacity was 5 million passengers compared to 8 million now. This terminal houses around 20 automatic kiosks, 24 reception desks, 12 boarding gates and a retail area of 1,500 m2. As for the second terminal, which is located east of terminal number 1, it covers an area of 5,800 m ?. It has 8 check-in counters, a Duty Free area, a café, 3 boarding gates and 2 lanes for baggage collection at arrivals. This terminal only accepts flights to countries that are members of the Schengen Area and operates up to 25 flights per day, or around 3 million passengers. There is also the so-called premium terminal. This is dedicated to business and premium class travelers.
The advantages of Charleroi airport
Despite its small facilities and fewer distractions, several projects will be put in place in the next few years to develop airport traffic. Among them are the lengthening of the track to 3,200 meters and the construction of a train station linked to Brussels. In order to better serve its passengers, Charleroi airport has offices offering a multitude of services and a shopping area. Find two International Currency Exchange Belgium exchange offices and ATMs on site. In the heart of the terminal, many shops selling food, souvenirs and many more await you. After security checks, you will have access to Duty Free shops.
In terms of catering, the airport is home to a number of bars and restaurants among them are Café Liégeois, Oui Shop and Paul. To park vehicles, parking lots are available near the airport. A distinction is made between the Express car park for very short-term parking, the Airport short-term car park, the Lockpark car park and the Long-term car park.
First used in a military context, the Charleroi-Bruxelles-Sud airport was classified after the Second World War as a public aerodrome. In the 1970s, the airport provided a link to London-Heathrow, but this ended in failure. Finding itself faced with virtually no passenger traffic, it finds itself used for private flights, training and some charter flights. It was in the 90s that it was reborn and the arrival of Ryanair marked an important turning point for this airport. In fact, low-cost flights are very successful and traffic is picking up considerably.
Located almost an hour from Brussels, Charleroi airport was chosen by Ryanair and other low-cost airlines to serve their flights to and from Belgium.
Located 55 kilometers south of Brussels, Charleroi Airport, also known as Brussels South, is the most popular airport for low-cost airlines.
Charleroi Airport has advantages and disadvantages like any small airport: its facilities are small and distractions are few; on the other hand, the checks are quick and there is no risk of getting lost.
Airport services
Catering: in the airport buildings there are several restaurants, a bakery, a pastry shop, a cafe, …
Shopping: a shopping arcade is available to customers, where there is a wide range of shops. There is also a pharmacy at the airport.
Currency: There are currency exchange points, money transfer points and ATMs.
Customer service: you can use press lounges, places with special massage chairs, luggage storage points, self-service check-in points.
Services for people with reduced mobility: the entire airport is adapted to accommodate disabled passengers (special toilets, passages, machines reading airport information). Internet – the entire airport is covered by wireless Internet access.
Multiple destinations served by this airport
With six different companies, there are many regular flights to Europe, Turkey and North Africa. Among these companies, it find alongside Air Begium
- Wizz Air; Hungarian company serving the countries of Eastern Europe
- Pegasus Airlines, Air Algérie, Air Corsica, Belavia or Laudamotion
- The Belgian company TUI fly Belgium
Air Belgium has started operating flights to link Belgium to the French Islands. Thus, you can fly to Martinique or Guadeloupe from Charleroi-Bruxelles-Sud airport.
Transfer from the airport to various places in the city
As the airport is 45km from Brussels, the means to reach it are not always easy. It has grouped together for you, many taxi / VTC on directory. This is the easiest and most efficient way to get to Charleroi-Brussels-South Airport. This is why it invites you to call on drivers to make your reservation quickly.