And here we are, the third month of 2021 has passed and we are in the middle of the 3rd wave of the pandemic, damn, we didn't expect that!
You only have to look at the air traffic in Europe to realize that we are not close to getting out of it; even the planes have to go out masked!
I'm not going to argue once again about the management of this crisis where the popular media say and contradict each other at every turn concerning the situation, the delivery of vaccines, the vaccination situation and the fact that we really wonder what we are busy injecting into the population under the seal of blackmail (there is no obligation, but without the certificate, no more trips, no more shows, no more restaurants, etc... Democracy is beautiful. If this is not an attack on the freedom of the individual, then I must have missed something).
Let's stop the moroseness of the situation here and move on to the aeronautical activity at Brussels Airport which was a good vintage, despite the variable weather from one extreme to the other, let's not forget that March is the month of sleet.
As far as passenger flights are concerned, there was a decrease in traffic due to the closure of our borders for aircraft coming from North Africa and more particularly from Morocco. On the other hand, the business jet traffic is doing rather well when you see the number of movements. It seems that the American star Brad Pitt even came to Brussels in a private jet on March 29.
In the cargo category, traffic was intense and most probably linked to the transport of vaccines to and from all over the world. It was also the month of the start of Air Belgium's cargo activities with the new aircraft OO-CMA and OO-AIR, freshly painted.
On the military and governmental side, Skeyes controllers were busy with a NATO summit followed by a European summit offering a week-long ballet of military and VIP aircraft.
Within the framework of the EATC (European Air Transport Command) the Gulftream G IV of the Koninklijke Luchtmacht and the A330 MRTT of the MRTT Multinational Fleet visited the military airbase in Melsbroek.
And since we are at the Melsbroek base and more specifically at the 15th Transport Wing, we can say that March was a busy month for our our military, with the arrival of the 3rd A400M CT-03, which on the afternoon of its arrival day on March 03, immediately performed a training mission and 10 days later the first fully operational mission of the Belgian A400M fleet, by conducting a flight to Jordan in order to bring new engines to the F-16 detachment (ODF 2020-2021). This flight was followed by a similar mission, by CT-02 this time.
March also saw the first deployment exercise of the new A400M and the coastal base of Koksijde was chosen as the DOP (Deployed Operating Base) for the 'Arizona Dream' operation (please see our page on this exercise). Finally, as everyone knows, the C-130H's are coming to the end of their lives and March is the last month of operation for CH-13, which, in principle, will end its days at Beauvechain under the auspices of the WHI (War Heritage Institute).
To mark the respectable age reached since the good old "Hercules" entered service in 1972, the Wing has specially decorated CH-01 with 50 year markings, corresponding to the start of the aircraft's manufacturing in the USA (see also our special page "Half Century... Mighty Hercs").
So that's it for this busy month, no more chit-chat, it's time to sit along the runways and admire the visitors of Brussels Airport for the month of March.
Have a nice flight and most important, stay safe with your beloved ones!