I worked in OST for two or three years, with little exception about the only passenger flights we saw were diversions from BRU.
I think this needs to be corrected a bit. Currently there are 13 regular destinations being offered from OST airport. Last year they handled some 247.000 PAX. More people are discovering the convenience of a local regional airport. If current trend continues (1Q2014:+26%), they will reach some 280K-300K passengers.At this moment only Med. destinationas are offered,but I believe there are again opportunities to relaunch after so many years the SEN-OST connection. In fact it would offer the fastest connection between Western-Belgium cities (such as Gent,Bruges,Zeebrugge,Ostend,Ypres,..) ,and not only London-City centre,but also the whole of NE London with cities such as , Ipswich, Cambridge, Harwich, Felixstowe,etc...
Someone willing to travel from W-Belgium to London with arrival before 10AM,needs to take the train between 6AM-6.30AM for arrival in st-Pancras at 09.57. Total travelling time more than 4 hours and 1-2 transfers with a cost for a morning/evening return ticket being a staggering EUR 639.(lower fares available,but very much off-peak) If OST-SEN airconnection would be available,same person could leave from OST around a more convenient 8AM and arrive in London Liverpool station around 9.15. And with the current trainfares,there should be some room to come to a decent air/train fare via SEN. In previous posts some people referred to the competition of the Chunnel when comparing with the succesful SEN-OST Sixties connection. True, but in the meantime SEN has some extra assets such as the trainstation and the relative good connection with London. Also SEN-OST should not be seen as a standalone route,but in combination with connections to/from DUB,EDI,JER,...
So,based on this ,I believe airlines currently operating from SEN (or potential newcomers) should give this idea some thought.
