Expanded terminal complex to enhance travel experience for growing number of passengers

Brussels Airport has the ambition to grow in step with the expected European traffic growth. At the same time, the airport wishes to ensure that all passengers can travel in a pleasant and comfortable way. 

That is why Brussels Airport is planning to develop its terminal in line with this evolution in order to better meet the current and future needs of passengers. In the coming 25 years, the airport will also be investing in two additional piers, so that most passengers will be able to board their flight comfortably via a passenger boarding bridge.

Terminal of the Future

Passenger wishes change over the years. According to global trends, more people will travel by air. They will fly more frequently than they do now. But they also expect a modern airport and quality service at the airport.

Technological progress will change the typical check-in processes. Check-in will mainly take place digitally and online. Today, a large proportion of passengers already check in online. 

Quite a few passengers also check in their luggage themselves at self-service luggage drop-off desks at the airport. Some suitcases now contain a chip to which the flight and passenger details can be uploaded, so that a paper label is no longer needed on the suitcase. 

These new technologies are not, as yet, widespread, but will become more common in the near future.

Brussels Airport will reorganise its terminal to ensure that these new technologies and systems will facilitate and accelerate the check in process. Other developments that improve the experience of and service for our passengers and which save time for passengers and airlines will likewise be implemented. 

When (re)designing the terminal, the applicable security measures will also be taken into account.

Two new piers

In the future, Brussels Airport wants to focus even more on travel comfort and a pleasant airport experience for passengers. The airport wants, for example, to ensure that the vast majority of passengers can board or leave their flight via a passenger boarding bridge so that they can comfortably start or end their journey, regardless of the weather.

As hub airport where many passengers transfer to another flight, the airport wants these passengers to reach their connecting flight as quickly and smoothly as possible. 

So as to have sufficient contact stands, stands served by a boarding bridge, at peak moments and to reduce distances for transfer passengers, Brussels Airport intends to construct two new piers by 2040. 

According to the latest traffic predictions, the first new pier, Pier A West, will be needed from 2023. A second new pier, Pier C, will be needed by around 2035.

In order to meet the current and future needs and changing travel habits of the passengers, Brussels Airport will equip its terminal with the latest technologies to allow for smooth passenger flows through the airport. Before 2040, Brussels Airport will also invest in two additional piers to ensure passengers can travel in comfort.

View the interactive 2D maps to see how Brussels Airport Company’s Strategic Vision translates itself tangibly into a phased adaptation of the infrastructure.