TUI fly Belgium is stopping all commercial flights to and from Antwerp Airport (Deurne) from spring 2027, after more than ten years of operations from the historic port city, marking another consolidation in the European aviation sector.
Though the convenient access and manageable size of Antwerp had proved a boon for regional travellers, TUI had already shrunk its operations there in recent months, ceasing to fly to a number of popular holiday spots and signalling the end of its schedules there. Now it has announced that two flights on 24 March 2027 to Alicante and 25 March 2027 to Málaga will be its last.
TUI has said it intends to centralise more flight operations at Brussels Airport and Ostend-Bruges Airport, generating efficiency gains and flexibility over its fleet, with no job losses anticipated.
Similar consolidation moves are being taken across Europe’s carriers. Lufthansa is wiping up to 20,000 European flights from schedules and winding down Lufthansa CityLine operations to consolidate its short- and medium-haul traffic across hubs such as Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, and Brussels. In addition, Air France-KLM is bringing executive functions and newly acquired airlines (like SAS) into its Paris and Amsterdam folds.
Indeed, at the Airlines for Europe (A4E) summit in Brussels earlier this year, chiefs at Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM, and IAG (owner of British Airways and Iberia) all urged authorities to make consolidation easier for the sake of European competitiveness.
That direction of travel risks leaving smaller airports out in the cold. The very existence of Antwerp Airport has been controversial in recent times, as environmental campaigners have questioned the emissions implications of smaller regional airfields and economic hawks have claimed that the airport is not deserving of its subsidies.
For now, though, Antwerp will continue to serve corporate and private travel, operate training flights, as well as scheduled services for airlines other than TUI, such as SkyAlps flights to Bolzano, Italy, and the winter timetable from ASL Fly Executive to Sion, gateway to Verbier, as well as Innsbruck, and Ibiza.
The airport has said it “regrets” the TUI move, but Nathan De Valck, CEO, insisted “our top priority now is to continue providing services for TUI fly and its passengers in the coming months without interruption. Together with TUI fly, the airport will ensure that the remaining operations run smoothly, safely, and professionally until the end of the winter season.”
The airport is also working to expand its airline network and respond to critics by achieving a more stable financial footing. To that end, it has recently developed a new pricing structure, it said.
