Reminder.....This forum is Airlines, Airports, and Routes! Pointless complaints to the moderation team ends now!

Would love easyjet to start a service to Ostend only one which I could remember was BAF great old film on YouTube but I see again on kentonline the mayor of Ostend wants to start a fast ferry in to ramsgate many times this has folded come on easyjet start a service

Regarding Easyjet, Ryanair tried an air service to OST, it was probably them that renamed it Ostend-Bruges, and even at their silly fares they failed miserably, having lived in Ostend for 2.5 years pretty much the bulk of the British tourists they get there are day trip 'Booze Cruisers' often out to give the British as bad a reputation as is possible!

With regards to a fast ferry back in the last century Ostend did have a fast ferry, indeed an air service, to Kent with two Boeing Jetfoils, oh they were fun, initially to Dover before Sally Lines became involved and they switched to Ramsgate ... Alas the channel tunnel came along and that put an end to that service and a number of other services.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...0407274069.jpg

Regional airports in Belgium are doing very well
 

The opposite is also true. FIVE Belgian airports are also taking away passengers from neighbouring countries.
e.g. Number of Dutch passengers at Antwerp airport is +10% and likely to grow,especially when the Dutch government will increase their taxrates on departing passengers soon, ANR having the cheapest airport carparking rates in the Benelux,and number of offered destinations out of ANR growing every season.
Similarly ,also OST is gaining more and more passengers from Northern-France and the Netherlands.:)
As stated before ,the reinstatement of a direct airlink between OST and a UK airport offering also some connection possibilities to other cities, would defenitely be of added value to the region. e.g. SEN-OST would be the fastest routing between London+counties NE of LON and Flanders and v.v. Some connecting flights to MAN,DUB,GLA,EDI,JER,BFS,... could make it a profitable operation. Chunnel is an alternative indeed,but not the best one in terms of total door-to-door traveltime and even total price.

If my memory serves me correctly back in the 1960s SEN - OST was the busiest scheduled air service in the world.
Now that SEN has been established as a London airport with a longer runway , new terminal and combined railway station with up to 8 trains an hour to London there must be potential for a service between the two.
Just a thought.

With what ... A Navajo, A SF340 or? ... Because there simply isn't the call for a medium sized aircraft on such a route when there is the tunnel and X channel ferries.

By the same logic routes to Australia should have half a dozen stops, like they did in the 60s?

I flew on a Beechcraft from Ostend to Heathrow with Sabena would have been early 80s. It must have been the smallest aircraft operating into LHR. Ostend Airport I remember felt like a film set inside with check in desks with New York JFK stated, and other places I'm sure none were operational.* I also flew to Ostend from Lydd on a day trip with Janus Airways, I think on a Herald.* Fun days*

POBEDA is very succesfull at EBOS. The Russian low cost operator is offering OSTEND-BRUGHES 3 times a week from VKO.
The average loadfactor is 80% or around 150 pax per flight.

Ostend airport management is hoping that the success of this line will open the eyes of other airlines.

Back in the mists of time......BKS used to fly NCL - Ostend with an Avro Anson.

Flemish Government Under Suspicion of Illegal Financing of Ostend Airport
 

https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2019/05/12/flemish-government-under-suspicion-of-illegal-financing-of-ostend-airport/

Full story on: http://wiloo.be/Press_release_WILOO_May_7th_2019%20.pdf

For the second time... (as in 2019) no B744 AN12 etc at night! QC12 only
 

Been many many years since I've been to OST airport. Janus Airways from Lydd, and Sabena OST-LHR, Beechcraft. Back then it looked a huge booking hall, with no flights, bit like a film set.

Ostend-Bruges airport to become Belgium's second largest solar park.

Ostend-Bruges International Airport will become Belgium’s second largest solar panel park in Belgium.
Energy company EnergyVision is installing 66,200 solar panels on the grounds of the airport.
The panels have a total capacity of over 40MWp.

https://www.ostendbruges-airport.com/solarpark/

In a week's time, the 60-day renovation works of the 3200m runway will come to an end.
Some video's of the progess can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@ost7137/videos

DIBO,

Thanks for that news. I keep an eye on OST as I pass it on the road headed for Brussels and Antwerp fairly regularly. I was puzzled about the lack of movements recently.

I imagine the Jetair Fly IT flights have operated from BRU during the closure period.