Air Belgium says it has obtained its air transportation certificate from the Mobility Department’s general directorate of air transport, DGTA, and could begin its first flights from Charleroi to Hong Kong in mid-April. Ticket sales are set to begin in the next few days.
The Belgian airline recently acquired its first two planes. The two Airbus A340s arrived at the airport in early March to be decorated on the inside and on the outside with Air Belgium colours. This will be done in the workshops of Sabena Aerospace, which is one of the company’s shareholders, according to a source close to the issue.
Air Belgium had expected to receive its air transportation certificate soon after the planes arrived, since the last phase of the process was linked to the final technical inspections of the planes. In late January, the head of the company, Niky Terzakis, had announced that it would start flying in late March from Charleroi to China. However, it seems that this will only happen in mid-April.
Hong Kong will be Air Belgium’s first destination. It is to be joined by six others, also in China, by the end of June, using a fleet of four planes initially.
The new carrier aims to transport 500,000 passengers per year and does not rule out adding North and South America to its destination list.
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The Brussels Times
