Organised by VISIT Vlaams-Brabant, the initiative combines beer tourism with walking and cycling, with several stops accessible by public transport from Brussels. Flemish Brabant’s brewing heritage is also gaining visibility beyond Belgium, with regional beers served on Brussels Airlines flights. 

Lambic owes its character to spontaneous fermentation involving wild yeasts from the air. Blending young and older lambics produces geuze, bringing together nature, time and craftsmanship. This October, breweries and blending houses across the region will host a range of events showcasing both the tradition’s history and its continued evolution.

1. Lambiek Fabriek: contemporary flavours beside the canal

Founded in 2016 by Jo Panneels and Jozef Van Bosstraeten, Lambiek Fabriek in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw takes an experimental approach to lambic. Its ram’s-head labels and “No Brett, No Glory” slogan reference Brettanomyces, the wild yeasts associated with these beers.

The range includes Rhub-Elle with rhubarb, Pluri-Elle with berries and Caram-Elle with roasted malt. The Lambiekland Passport also allows visitors to collect stamps at participating breweries and blending houses, turning individual outings into a broader exploration of the region.

2. Timmermans: centuries of brewing in Itterbeek

Operating since 1702, Timmermans is recognised as the world’s oldest lambic brewery. Its traditional wooden maturation vessels and cooling equipment now sit alongside a new visitor attraction, the Immersive Lambic Experience, introduced in March 2026.

Bus routes R10 and R16 serve the nearby Itterbeek Breugeldal stop, making the brewery accessible from Brussels. Timmermans can also be reached by cycling along the Brussels–Charleroi canal, offering visitors the option of combining a brewery visit with a scenic ride. For those who prefer to explore the area on foot, the 7.6-kilometre Bruegel Walk provides another way to discover the surrounding Pajottenland.

During Lambic Month, nearby Krok & Ko is also serving a “KROK LAMBIEK”, adding a food stop to the outing.

3. Boon: a family story and vintage bottles in Lembeek

Frank Boon championed traditional geuze when its future appeared uncertain in the 1970s. Today, his sons Jos and Karel continue the family business in Lembeek, where the brewery maintains its own cooperage.

A walk from Lembeek railway station brings visitors to the brewery, while the nearby 7.1-kilometre Alambic Walk explores the Zenne Valley.

A highlight this month is Boon’s Cellar Days, running from 16 to 18 October. Older geuze and kriek bottles, rarities and vintage tastings will be available, alongside additional bookable brewery tours. The event offers an opportunity to discover how these beers develop with age.

4. 3 Fonteinen: traditional craft with creative collaborations

At 3 Fonteinen, an emphasis on terroir and traditional methods leaves room for experimentation. Selected vintage blends feature artwork by Felix De Boeck, while a collaboration with Brussels rapper Zwangere Guy produced a grape lambic.

Its Lambik-O-Droom in Lot is within walking distance of the railway station. Free guided tours introduce the brewing process and maturation in wooden barrels. A visit can be paired with Belgian dishes in the brasserie, including shrimp croquettes and beef stew made with geuze.

For a longer outdoor excursion, a proposed 15-kilometre micro-adventure combines walking through the valley with packrafting on the Zenne.

5. Boerenerf: where lambic meets wine

At Boerenerf in Sollenberg, Senne Eylenbosch and Vincent Alluin explore the relationship between lambic and wine. The organic farm and blending house uses fruit grown on-site or sourced from local farmers, creating drinks that extend beyond familiar geuze and kriek styles.

Accessible on foot from Huizingen station, Boerenerf regularly hosts farm events and dinners with guest chefs, with upcoming dates listed in its agenda.

Another suggested pairing is the four-kilometre interactive beer walk through Halle, exploring the town’s brewing history and its association with Duivelsbier.

Together, the five stops offer different perspectives on lambic culture, from centuries-old brewing equipment to fruit-led experiments. The full Month of Lambic programme lists October activities across the region, with practical details for planning visits.

L’article 5 lambic breweries and blenders near Brussels to discover this October est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The relaunch offers a pre-party on 2 and 3 October, with exhibitions and performances, as well as creative workshops, a design and makers’ market, and a backyard brunch across a further nine days of events across the city as part of Design Fest Gent. Prospective visitors can discover the full programme here.

The four-year closure and €21-million-worth of works by Carmody Groarke with ATAMA and RE-ST have transformed the design museum, connecting its historic ensemble with the 21st century, a press release explains, as well as better connecting its atmospheric inner courtyard with the rest, to “fully function as a garden—the heart of the museum and a clear point of orientation,” officials say.

Constructed of timber and brick, the new wing introduces six zones, intended to be welcoming, open, and adaptable. At basement level, the art-handling area offers a glimpse into the museum’s daily behind-the-scenes work. From there, visitors move through the Stadskamer (reception and shop), the Forum (lecture space), the Atelier (workshops), and the Vitrine (temporary exhibitions), before arriving at the Loft on the fourth floor—a “generous event space with panoramic views over the city of Ghent,” the museum highlights.

Opening exhibitions include Models from the Past for the Future, curated by Evelien Bracke; Public Matter(s): Design and Democracy, curated by Amelie Klein and Vera Sacchetti; CO-LAB, curated by Siegrid Demyttenaere; and Searcher, an AI installation that explores links across the collection.

Visitors are invited to interact and engage with more than 24,000 objects, over 3,700 square metres of exhibition space, with about 500 in the new collection display. The new flow through the items and new wing are claimed to “complete the loop” of the visitor experience.

The museum’s evolution is also “circular” in terms of its green credentials. Its facade is made of Gent Waste Brick, a “lime-cured brick produced from locally sourced municipal waste” which does not need to be fired in kilns and boasts a significantly reduced environmental footprint. More than 82,000 of the bricks were produced locally at Het Arsenaal in Ghent, a process the people of Ghent could follow live—again leaning into interactive community principles.

“This expansion and renovation are not simply aimed at creating more museum space, but something that goes beyond the museum: a place where the community can collectively process and interpret reality,” director Katrien Laporte explained, as reported by Finestre sull’Arte.

L’article Ghent Design Museum reopens after €21 million renovation est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

On 26 September 1986, Autoworld first opened its doors to the public. The opening was the result of a joint effort by King Albert II, Minister Louis Olivier, and President Herman De Croo to create a unique place where Belgian automotive history could come to life.

At the time, the Autoworld museum was mainly made possible through the automobile collection of the Mahy family, one of the largest in the world, which contributed to the creation of Autoworld. Some 2000 vehicles from Ghislain Mahy and his sons Hans and Ivan were displayed at the museum, many of them models from before the Second World War.

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Since then, the way in which Autoworld operates has changed. The museum owns just a couple of dozen cars, while most of the exhibitions are filled with vehicles from private collectors who temporarily loan the cars to the museum. Every year, Autoworld holds two major temporary exhibitions featuring around fifty vehicles, while numerous small pop-up exhibitions and automotive-related events take place on a more regular basis.

Throughout its existence, the museum has set up some 100 exhibitions, featuring more than 2,000 cars. The number of visitors has also increased exponentially, quadrupling over the past 10 years to reach 245,000 in 2025.

To celebrate its 40^th anniversary, Autoworld has put together a special exhibition called ‘Looking Back to the Future’. Until 23 December 2026, visitors can marvel at 15 cars, two motorcycles, and a Vespa – including a Bugatti Type 35, Lamborghini Miura, James Bond’s Toyota 2000GT Targa, and a Porsche 918 Spyder.

However, Autoworld’s 40^th anniversary will also be celebrated through a special Birthday Event on 4 October 2026. The programme includes an impressive Supercar Line-up at the heart of the museum, free guided tours, rides in cars from the museum’s collection, and activities for children.

One of the main events of the day, however, will be the Cars & Coffee Birthday Edition. From 10:00 am until 2:00 pm, the Esplanade of the Cinquantenaire Park in front of the museum will welcome all classic and youngtimer cars that are at least 20 years old, while a Best of Show awards ceremony will put the most memorable cars in the spotlight. Participation in the Cars & Coffee event is free, but prior registration is mandatory.

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Autoworld also has a special treat for those who happen to be born in 1986 or have a car that dates back to the year of its opening. People born in 1986 will be able to enjoy free admission to the museum upon presentation of their ID card on 4 October. The same goes for owners of a classic car dating from 1986 upon presentation of the vehicle’s registration certificate.

As far as the future is concerned, Autoworld recently obtained a new lease agreement based on government decisions and a Royal Decree, securing the building’s rental until 2041. The extension allows Autoworld to safeguard the museum’s future and to elevate the overall visitor experience to a higher level, and a major renovation is being planned behind the scenes.

L’article Autoworld Museum Brussels celebrates 40th anniversary with special exhibition and event est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

With passenger numbers continuing to grow, Belgium’s Brussels Airport has been planning an ambitious infrastructure revamp. By 2032, the company will invest some €500 million in building works that include renovations in the arrival and departure halls, a new intermodal transport hub, more green space, and a 4-star hotel.

“This investment shows that the airport thinks ahead without losing sight of sustainability. I am particularly delighted that Brussels Airport is committed to an intermodal mobility hub where different modes of transport meet. This is essential because mobility today is no longer the sum of separate modes of transport. We need to evolve into smart mobility hubs that seamlessly link comfort, connectivity and climate ambition. These are great and ambitious plans that don’t think in boundaries, but rather in connections,” Belgian Federal Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke said at the time.  

The works that started on the passenger boarding bridges in Pier A on 21 September 2026 are part of that larger overhaul. The terminal is used exclusively for Schengen flights and has 33 bridges allowing passengers to board the aircraft directly from the gate. The oldest bridges date back to 2002, when the pier officially entered service. 

After nearly 25 years of intensive daily use, several technical and structural components are in need of renewal. During the renovation works, the passenger boarding bridges will be fitted with a new control system, and components will be overhauled or replaced if necessary. 

According to Brussels Airport, each boarding bridge was individually assessed to determine which components need refurbishment or replacement. Additional sensors will be installed, and the bridges will be equipped with a new control system, enabling ground handling teams to work more efficiently. Floors, windows, and other components will also be renewed where necessary. 

The movable sections of the bridges will be detached from the pier before being transported to the manufacturer using specialised vehicles. After several months of refurbishment, depending on the scope of the work required, each bridge will be returned to Brussels Airport and reinstalled.

The works will allow the passenger boarding bridges to continue operating smoothly and efficiently for at least another fifteen years of operation while continuing to meet all applicable safety and operational standards.

To minimise disruption for passengers and airport activities, no more than three bridges will be renovated at the same time. This should ensure sufficient capacity remains available for flights and passengers. During the summer season, when passenger volumes are higher, a maximum of two bridges will be taken out of service simultaneously.

The project will be carried out in phases over the next five years, allowing the airport to minimise the impact on passengers and airport operations. The entire project represents an investment of approximately €25 million and should be completed in 2031.

L’article Brussels Airport begins €25 million renovation of passenger boarding bridges at Pier A est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The plaque was unveiled at the Ploegsteert Memorial during a ceremony attended by diplomatic representatives from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and Ireland, alongside Comines-Warneton mayor Alice Leeuwerck, local officials and schoolchildren. Ploegsteert lies in the westernmost part of Wallonia, in Hainaut province, on the French border and just south of Ypres.

The recognition comes after a process that began in 2016 and eventually led to 139 WWI cemeteries and memorial sites along the former Western Front being inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2023.

The transnational site stretches across Belgium and France, following a front that once ran for around 700 kilometres from the North Sea to the Franco-Swiss border.

The list comprises 96 sites in France and 43 in Belgium, split between Flanders, with 27, and Wallonia, with 16. Eight of the Walloon sites are located in Comines-Warneton, an extraordinary concentration of WWI heritage in this small border municipality that reflects the intensity and scale of the fighting in the region.

“This recognition is powerful. There are even children here who may have had to flee from war themselves. Heritage is not an end in itself, but it connects people,” said Yves Rouyet, chair of the Belgian Commission for UNESCO.

He also pointed out that soldiers from China and Africa, “who are often forgotten”, fell here too, and said remembering their stories helps to break down “barriers of racism”.

British troops arrived in the area in October 1914 and dug in around Ploegsteert. Struggling to pronounce the name of the village, they nicknamed it “Plugstreet”.

Unlike nearby Ypres, the sector was not the scene of major offensives. After heavy fighting in 1914 and 1915, Ploegsteert Wood became a comparatively quiet sector of the Western Front and was used as a rest area by British and Commonwealth troops. Quiet was relative, however: soldiers stationed there still endured years of trench warfare, shelling, raids and underground mine warfare, and many of those killed died in the daily attrition of holding the front line.

The area is also associated with a rare heart-warming episode of this war, when it became the unlikely scene of the Christmas Truce. On 24 December 1914, British and German soldiers in several sections of the Western Front spontaneously stopped fighting, sang carols and met in the no man’s land between the opposing lines to celebrate Christmas.

Across the Western Front, more than two million soldiers were buried in military cemeteries and necropolises, while hundreds of thousands remained missing or unidentified.

At the ceremony, Leeuwerck highlighted the potential impact of the UNESCO recognition on tourism and the local economy. She said the 2014-2018 centenary commemorations had been an important period for remembrance tourism and hoped the UNESCO designation would “breathe new life” into the sector, including south of Ypres.

The ceremony ended with a special Last Post at the Ploegsteert Memorial. The monument commemorates more than 11,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen who died in the surrounding area and have no known grave.

Six further plaque unveilings will take place in Belgium, with the next planned for 6 October at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Zonnebeke. Additional ceremonies will be held in Heuvelland, Ypres, Nieuwpoort, Poperinge and Mons.

L’article Wallonia village honoured with UNESCO plaque for First World War memorial est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Brussels Airport has confirmed the lengthy queues, which mainly affected passengers arriving from outside the Schengen Area and required to pass through passport control before entering Belgium.

The disruption was mainly linked to technical issues affecting EES, the EU’s biometric border registration system for non-EU nationals travelling for short stays. IT problems sometimes slowed down checks considerably, leading to exceptionally long waiting times.

The latest incident comes after months of warnings from airports and airlines about the impact of the new system on passenger flows across Europe.

From four-hour warnings to five-hour queues

The EES began its phased rollout in October 2025 and became fully operational across participating European borders in April 2026. It replaces the manual stamping of passports by electronically registering non-EU nationals entering and leaving the Schengen Area.

The system records travellers’ passport information, as well as biometric data including facial images and fingerprints. It is intended to modernise border management, identify overstayers and make it easier to detect cases of identity and document fraud.

Brussels Airport invested heavily in preparing for the system, installing 12 additional border control booths at arrivals, equipping 33 booths with facial-recognition cameras and providing 61 self-service pre-registration kiosks.

However, the rollout has repeatedly encountered operational problems.

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As early as February, Travel Tomorrow reported that ACI EUROPE, Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) were warning that EES could result in queues of four hours or more during periods of heavy traffic.

The organisations pointed to insufficient staffing, technical problems with automated border systems and the limited deployment of pre-registration tools as key concerns.

Brussels Airport itself experienced an early warning of the system’s vulnerability in February, when an e-gate failure forced passport checks to be carried out manually, resulting in waits of up to 90 minutes.

The situation deteriorated as the proportion of travellers registered under EES increased. In March, Brussels Airport called for greater flexibility in the implementation of the system after waiting times reached two hours at departures and more than three hours at arrivals. Nearly 600 passengers missed flights over four days, according to the airport.

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More passengers sent to staffed border controls

One of the problems at Brussels Airport concerns how non-European passengers can use automated border infrastructure.

Until April, passengers from certain countries, including the United States, could register through EES kiosks and subsequently use automated gates to cross the border.

That is no longer possible, meaning more travellers now have to pass through staffed border-control posts. Combined with technical difficulties affecting EES, the change can create bottlenecks when large numbers of passengers arrive within a short period.

The airport says work is ongoing to find structural solutions to the congestion.

The issue comes as passenger traffic at Brussels Airport continues to grow. Around 5.2 million passengers were expected to use the airport during July and August alone, 4% more than during the same period in 2025.

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IATA warned of six-hour waits

The five-hour queues come only weeks after the aviation industry renewed its concerns about EES.

At an EU media briefing in Brussels on 3 September, IATA called for greater flexibility in the implementation of the system, arguing that airports should retain the possibility of partially suspending EES procedures when infrastructurecannot cope with passenger volumes.

The association identified four conditions it said were necessary for the system to operate reliably: adequate staffing at border crossings, stable hardware and software, functioning self-service kiosks and automated gates, and wider use of pre-registration tools.

Asked about previous industry warnings of queues lasting as long as six hours, Thomas Reynaert, IATA’s Senior Vice President for External Affairs, said such waiting times were “certainly not an exaggeration”, noting that extreme cases had already occurred during the summer.

The latest disruption at Brussels Airport appears to reinforce those concerns. While EES was designed to modernise Europe’s external borders and eventually make controls more efficient, its implementation continues to create significant operational challenges almost a year after its rollout began.

L’article Up to 5-hour queues hit Brussels Airport as EES border problems persist est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Brussels’ Kanal is widely regarded as one of the most anticipated cultural novelties of the year. The Kanal-Centre Pompidou Museum, as the museum is called, has been in the making since 2017. At that time, a structural partnership agreement was established between Centre Pompidou, the Brussels-Capital Region, and the Kanal Foundation in order to create a new multidisciplinary cultural hub. within the former Citroën garage at Place de l’Yser in Brussels.

After almost ten years, the building works have finally entered the last stage and the museum is getting ready to open on 28 November 2026.

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“Kanal opens a new chapter in the cultural history of Brussels and beyond. Conceived as a museum from the outset, the institution emerges in a city marked by artistic intensity and institutional absence: a place where contemporary practices have long flourished without a museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Kanal is founded in response to this condition – not as a corrective, but as a proposition,” stated Kasia Redzisz, Artistic director at Kanal-Centre Pompidou.

During the opening weekend, Kanal opens its doors on Saturday 28 November at 10:00 am and remains open without interruption until Sunday 29 November at 10:00 pm. During that time, the building itself will be open and fully accessible to everyone, no reservations or tickets required. A non-stop programme will feature live performances, opening ceremonies, concerts and DJ sets, films and installations, as well as workshops for kids and families.

Those who wish to visit the ten opening exhibitions, however, will need to book a time slot in advance. Nevertheless, even those tickets will be free of charge on 28 and 29 November. There are 24 time slots available spread over the weekend, offering room for upwards of 30,000 visitors.

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Spread over 40,000 square metres – making it one of Europe’s largest museums – visitors of Kanal will find ten exhibitions, as well as a bakery, restaurant, rooftop bar, and museum shop. One of the main collections will be ‘A Truly Immense Journey’, featuring 350 works of art, 80% of which are part of the collection of Centre Pompidou in Paris. While most exhibitions will be accessible from 28 November onwards, the architecture centre and collections will open later due to a fire in July 2026.

“Ten exhibitions to open Kanal. Ten exhibitions to provide a first answer to an open-ended question: what is the role of a museum of art and architecture in the 21st century? What is the purpose of Kanal at a time when the spectre of extremism and dreams of empire are returning? What is the use of Kanal when human intelligence is being challenged by machines? What is the point of Kanal at a time of increasingly polarised identity politics? What is the meaning of Kanal in a world that is simultaneously burning and drowning? Everything and nothing at the same time,” said Yves Goldstein, director-general at Kanal-Centre Pompidou.

Before the opening, Kanal will be welcoming nearly 5,000 children from 27 neighbourhood schools throughout the Brussels-Capital Region. According to the museum, the symbolic gesture highlights Kanal’s commitment to build the new museum together with – and for – the publics of tomorrow.

L’article Brussels’ Kanal to open on 28 November with free opening weekend est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The action may especially affect aircraft scheduled to arrive late at night or depart early in the morning. Charleroi Airport is officially closed during part of the night, but some aircraft are still permitted to land during those hours. Disruption to an incoming flight could also affect the aircraft’s next scheduled service. However, no detailed list of delays or cancellations has yet been announced.

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The dispute concerns the night allowance received by air traffic controllers. A night allowance is an additional payment for employees required to work during night-time hours. A trade union submitted a strike notice at the end of July, but the planned action did not take place at the time. Several attempts to resolve the disagreement through mediation have since ended without an agreement.

According to Skeyes management, controllers at Charleroi are asking for their night allowance to be increased to 160% of its current level. Management says the existing allowance already exceeds €1,000 per shift. The company has rejected the requested increase. “Skeyes cannot agree to this, given that the airport is closed at night,” management said.

The VSOA trade union disputes that reasoning. Lennert Mervilde, a representative of the union, set out the employees’ position. “The Charleroi air traffic controllers are asking for the same night allowance that applies in other units where a night allowance is paid,” he said. Mervilde also argues that controllers still have responsibilities during the night despite the airport’s official closure.

Mervilde says air traffic continues during the night despite the airport being officially closed. “There is an agreement between Charleroi Airport and Ryanair allowing aircraft based there to still land,” he explained. These aircraft may be returning to Charleroi after completing their final flights of the day. Mervilde added that one aircraft had arrived at 5:20 am during the previous week.

The disagreement is also connected to a wider dispute over the introduction of digital air traffic control towers. In the future, air traffic at Charleroi and Liège airports is expected to be managed from a new digital control centre in Namur. This means controllers will be able to supervise flights at the two Walloon airports from another location instead of working from a traditional tower beside the runway. The planned change has created tensions between Skeyes and some of its air traffic controllers.

Mervilde says strike action is now the only option left after the negotiations broke down. Nevertheless, the union hopes the disruption will remain as limited as possible and is waiting for management to take a new initiative. Skeyes, however, considers the scale of the action disproportionate to the disagreement. “A ten-hour work stoppage every night for 24 consecutive nights could have very significant consequences,” management warned.

Those consequences could extend beyond the flights and passengers directly affected. Skeyes says the strikes may disrupt the operation of Charleroi Airport and the airlines serving it. Airport businesses and employees whose work depends on flight operations could also be affected. It remains unclear whether further negotiations will take place before the first night of industrial action.

L’article Nightly air traffic control strikes to disrupt Charleroi Airport until October est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The Belgian statistical office reported that Belgians took 31.2 million trips involving at least one overnight stay last year.

The vast majority of these trips were taken for personal reasons, such as leisure and holidays, or to visit family and friends.

A surprisingly small 6% only were for business purposes. Compared with pre-Covid figures, it seems that business travel has recovered far more slowly than leisure travel, suggesting that Zoom and remote working may have permanently changed the way some international business is conducted.

Of the 1.9 million business trips made by Belgians in 2025, 18% were within the country’s borders. France was the leading destination for business trips abroad, with 366,000 trips to the neighbouring country. This was followed by Germany with 229,000 trips and the Netherlands with 207,000.

Between 44,000 and 79,000 business trips were made to Italy and Spain, as well as to destinations beyond Europe, including Africa, Asia and North America.

Overall, almost a third of all trips, or 9.4 million, were made within Belgium. The Ardennes and the Belgian coast were the most popular destinations, accounting for 2.9 million trips each.

Art cities attracted 1.1 million visits.

When Belgians did venture abroad, France was the undisputed favourite, with 6.86 million trips, compared with 2.63 million to the Netherlands and 2.22 million to Spain.

Beyond the top three destinations, numbers dropped considerably. Italy and Germany recorded 1.45 and 1.44 million trips, respectively, followed by Morocco (around 700,000), the UK (660,000) and Portugal (558,000).

The report found that city breaks (35%) were as popular with Belgians as seaside holidays (32%) or trips to the countryside (31%). Mountains were less popular, accounting for only 12% of trips, a figure that some might say is hardly surprising for travellers from the Plat Pays.

With a large share of trips either domestic or to neighbouring countries, it is perhaps to be expected that almost two-thirds (19.1 million) were made by car, motorbike or camper. Air travel came second, accounting for 7.8 million trips.

Within Belgium, the car is by far the favourite mode of transport, accounting for 83% of trips. Belgians appear less enthralled by their public transport system when travelling within their own country: 12% took the train, and only 3% took the bus.

Interestingly, however, the train was the main means of transport for 39% of trips to Belgium’s “art cities”.

By contrast, it was used for just 5% of trips to the Ardennes and 12% of trips to the coast.

L’article France remains Belgians’ favourite foreign destination with 31.2 million trips in 2025 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The airport operator promised in a press release that the four-star hotel, located directly opposite the terminal, will remain open while the renovation is carried out in phases. Initial façade works began this summer, while the main structural programme is expected to start in mid-2027 and be completed by the end of 2028.

This was the Sheraton #BrusselsAirport Hotel back in 1989. Nearly 40 years later, it’s getting ready for its next chapter. From mid-2027, the hotel will undergo a major #renovation, from its façade to the guest rooms. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming! Read more in our… pic.twitter.com/IruyOcrKKd

— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) September 9, 2026

The investment comes after a turbulent period for the airport hotel. In August 2025, the local mayor ordered the Sheraton to close temporarily after advice from the Flemish Brabant West fire brigade, following tests that found fire-safety systems no longer met applicable standards. Guests were required to leave the hotel by midnight, although Brussels Airport said at the time that the measure was precautionary and that no incident had endangered guests or staff.

The hotel later reopened after corrective steps and inspection clearance, but fire safety returned to the spotlight on Christmas Eve 2025, when 175 guests were temporarily evacuated to the airport departure hall after a blaze broke out in a technical room in the underground car park. Firefighters brought the flames under control; no injuries were reported, and guests returned after the building was ventilated and carbon monoxide checks were completed.

Although the latest airport announcement on the hotel focuses on guest experience, capacity, and sustainability, the planned upgrades to electrical and ventilation systems, as well as the roof and broader technical infrastructure, will be watched closely in light of those incidents. The project also includes a new glass gallery in the reception and restaurant area, designed to bring in more natural light and expand the lobby into multiple hospitality zones.

Guest rooms are due to be fully refurbished, the restaurant will undergo a complete renovation, and the current meeting-room space on the top floor will be converted into additional executive rooms. Brussels Airport said the added rooms are intended to help address high occupancy levels and prepare for future demand for accommodation at the airport.

Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport, said the hotel has been part of the airport since its launch three and a half decades ago, and remains an important first or last stop for travellers, business guests, and visitors. The renovation, he said, is intended to deliver “fully refurbished, comfortable and modern rooms” and an enhanced dining and meeting environment.

Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel opened in 1989 under Starwood Hotels & Resorts, with Marriott International taking over in 2017. Brussels Airport Company has, however, owned the building since 2019 and continues to pursue a diversification strategy through operationally relevant real estate investments. That includes the acquisition of neighbouring Novotel buildings and land, as the hub enjoys ongoing growth in passenger numbers.

L’article Brussels Airport plans major Sheraton hotel renovation after fire-safety scrutiny est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.