Liège Airport

Liege Airport^[a] (IATA: LGG, ICAO: EBLG), previously called Liege-Bierset Airport,^[b] is an international airport located 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) west^[1] of the city of Liège, Wallonia in Belgium. The airport mainly focuses on air freight. At the end of 2021, freight traffic reached 1,412,498 tonnes (+26%). Liege Airport is now the 5th biggest cargo airport in Europe and the 22nd biggest in the world.^[2]

Liege Airport
IATA: LGG ICAO: EBLG
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Walloon government & private investors
Operator	Liege Airport s.a.
Serves	Liege, Belgium
Location	Grâce-Hollogne, Liège, Wallonia
Hub for	ASL Airlines Belgium CAL Cargo Air Lines CMA CGM Air Cargo El Al Cargo Ethiopian Cargo FedEx Express Qatar Airways Cargo
Focus city for	TUI fly Belgium
Elevation AMSL	659 ft / 201 m
Coordinates	50°38′11″N 005°26′34″E / 50.63639°N 5.44278°E / 50.63639; 5.44278Coordinates: 50°38′11″N 005°26′34″E / 50.63639°N 5.44278°E / 50.63639; 5.44278
Website	liegeairport.com
Map
EBLG Location in Belgium
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 04R/22L 3,690 12,106 Asphalt 04L/22R 2,340 7,677 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Freight (tonnes) 871.000 Passengers 299.292
Sources: Belgian AIP^[1]

Overview

The airport is located in Grâce-Hollogne, Liège Province, north-west of the city of Liege, in the east of Belgium. The first terminal on the site opened in 1930.^[3]

It is mainly used for freight/cargo operations, but also serves a number of destinations for passengers (mainly charters). Liege is located in the centre of the golden triangle Paris – Amsterdam – Frankfurt that handles 66% of European freight, and 75% when taken together with London. In 2018, it was the seventh biggest cargo airport in Europe. Liege Airport is the biggest cargo airport in Belgium, and the third-biggest for passengers after Brussels Airport and Brussels South Charleroi Airport.^[4] It is the global hub of ASL Airlines Belgium (the former TNT Airways) and is also used by several other cargo carriers on a scheduled or irregular basis.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

As of July 2020, TUI fly Belgium is the only airline offering scheduled and seasonal passenger flights at Liege Airport.^[5]

Airlines	Destinations
TUI fly Belgium^[6]	Alicante, Gran Canaria, Málaga, Tenerife–South Seasonal: Heraklion, Kayseri, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Tangier

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
AirBridgeCargo^[7]	Atlanta, Karaganda, Kazan, Milan–Malpensa, Moscow–Sheremetyevo (all suspended)
Air Canada Cargo	Basel/Mulhouse (begins 19 April 2023),^[8] Toronto–Pearson
Air China Cargo^[9]	Hangzhou,^[10] Shanghai–Pudong
ASL Airlines Belgium^[11]	Chicago–O'Hare, Halifax, Hangzhou, Jinan, New York–JFK, Shanghai–Pudong , Tokyo–Narita
Astral Aviation^[12]	Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta
Atlas Air^[13]	Tel Aviv
CAL Cargo Air Lines^[14]	Atlanta, Larnaca, Mexico City, New York–JFK, Oslo, Tel Aviv, Toronto–Pearson
CMA CGM Air Cargo^[15]	Atlanta, Chicago–O’Hare, Hong Kong
Ethiopian Cargo^[16]	Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Chongqing,Copenhagen Airport, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Johannesburg–O.R. Tambo, Juba, Lagos, Miami, New York–JFK, Shanghai–Pudong, Zaragoza
FedEx Feeder^[17]	Stuttgart
Icelandair Cargo^[18]	Reykjavík–Keflavík
Qatar Airways Cargo^[19]	Atlanta, Chicago–O'Hare, Doha, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Mexico City

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at LGG airport. See Wikidata query.

Accidents and incidents

• On February 20, 2021, a Boeing 747-400 freighter airplane, flying Longtail Aviation flight 5504,^[20] which was bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, New York from the nearby Maastricht Aachen Airport in the Netherlands, had to divert to the airport after take-off after one engine caught fire and debris fell over the town of Meerssen. Two people on the ground were injured.^[21]

Ground transportation

By car

The airport is located next to the E42 (exit 3), close to an important highway junction.

By bus

An express bus (number 57) links the airport to Liege-Guillemins where connections can be made with local, national and high speed international trains (Thalys, ICE). Bus number 53 goes to Liege city centre (Place Saint-Lambert) where connections are available with Liege-Saint-Lambert railway station and bus hub, and to Pont-de-Seraing railway station and bus hub. Buses 83 and 85 connect the airport with Liege's city centre (Place Saint-Lambert) where connections are available with Liege-Saint-Lambert railway station and bus hub, and Bierset-Awans railway station.

See also

• Transportation in Belgium

References

1. EBLG – LIEGE / Liege (also PDF). AIP from Skeyes.
2. "Top Europe Cargo Statistics". Retrieved 1 September 2022.
3. "Liege Airport". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
5. Destinations retrieved 16 July 2020
6. "Flight plan". tuifly.be.
7. airbridgecargo.com – Our network retrieved 16 July 2020
8. "AIR CANADA CARGO ADDS BASEL/MULHOUSE SERVICE IN APRIL 2023". AeroRoutes. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
9. Ltd, DVV Media International. "Air China Cargo lands at Liege Airport". Air Cargo News.
10. "Cainiao adds new route with Air Cargo China connecting Hangzhou, Liege". www.stattimes.com.
11. aslairlines.be - Scheduled retrieved 4 November 2021
12. astral-aviation.com - Schedule retrieved 16 July 2020
13. aircargonews.net retrieved 7 January 2020
14. cal-cargo.com – Network retrieved 17 November 2019
15. CMA CGM | Regular flights retrieved 14 May 2022
16. cargoethiopianairlines.com – Cargo Network retrieved 28 March 2020
17. aerotelegraph.com - "FedEx expands in Stuttgart" (German) 28 February 2023
18. icelandaircargo.com – Flight schedule retrieved 28 October 2018
19. qrcargo.com - Schedule retrieved 16 July 2020
20. "Engine parts drop from Boeing 747 cargo plane in Netherlands". The Guardian. 22 February 2021.
21. "Two injured after cargo plane's engine bursts into flames, drops debris over Dutch town". www.msn.com.

Notes

1. French: Aéroport de Liège, Dutch: Luchthaven Luik, German: Flughafen Lüttich
2. French: Aéroport Liège-Bierset, Dutch: Luchthaven Luik-Bierset

External links

•   Media related to Liège Airport at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (in French and Dutch)