Brussels Airport is now connected to the F3 Leuven-Brussels cycle path with a new branch. The F3 is one of the main cycle highways in Flemish Brabant and part of the FietsGEN (regional express cycle path network) between Flanders and Brussels. Thanks to this new branch, employees, local residents and passengers who travel light can reach the airport by bike in a safe, fast and sustainable way.
Not only do we ensure the safe movement of aircraft, we are also an important hub for public transport and are committed to being a bicycle-friendly airport.
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport
The excavation works started on 1 September 2020, and in March of this year the necessary signs were put up and markings painted, and the project was completed. The branch connecting the airport with the cycle highway is 1.8 kilometres long and 3.5 meters wide and largely lies on the bed of the former railway track. 66 lighting poles ensure safe cycling day and night. For visitors, employees and passengers alike, there are bicycle parking spaces at the airport, with charging stations for electric bicycles.
On the east side, the new cycle path, also known as S-bend because of its shape, connects to cycle highway F3 east of the junction of Martinusweg and Nossegemwegje. On the west side the branch connects to a new project by the municipality of Zaventem to improve the current unpaved path that longs the Zaventem cemetery, which then connects to Kerkhoflaan.
Connection to the F3 route also lets cyclists ride through the railway stations of Leuven, Herent, Veltem, Erps-Kwerps, Kortenberg, Nossegem and Zaventem, before branching off towards Woluwe-Saint-Etienne to enter the capital via cycle route 1b and Evere (behind the former NATO headquarters) and Schaerbeek.
On the north side, there is a connection to the A201 Leopoldlaan near the Heidestraat, giving cyclists access to the airport. This project is a collaboration between Brussels Airport, the Flemish Government, the province of Flemish Brabant and the municipality of Zaventem. Brussels Airport was in charge of the execution of the works.
“Smart mobility is extremely important for the airport,” said Arnaud Feist. “With this branch, we want to encourage all those who work at the airport, local residents and also passengers who travel lightly, to take their bike more often. In normal times, about 100,000 people come to the airport every day. With this connection, coming to the airport by bike is now even more comfortable and safer.”
The cycle path was made possible in collaboration between the Flemish Region, the province of Flemish Brabant, the municipality of Zaventem and Brussels Airport Company.
