PREPARING AIRCRAFT FOR EXTENDED DOWNTIME IS NOT A SIMPLE TASK

(Posted 10th April 2020)

Inside Brussels Airlines: how an airline prepares its fleet for hibernation

photo and video report

As a consequence of the coronavirus crisis, we had to temporarily suspend all of our flights. Except for a few aircraft that are on standby to bring stranded Belgians home, our entire fleet is parked and stored at Brussels Airport.

If you think this is a simple task, just like parking a car, you should guess again. Storing an Airbus A330 takes about 400 man hours, as our Maintenance & Engineering teams meticulously follow Airbus manufacturer instructions to make sure that our birds are stored safely. This means that all windows are taped to prevent sunlight from decolouring the interior, landing gears and engines are thoroughly packed so that birds cannot nest in them and to prevent corrosion. All our seats are covered as well, to keep them crisp and clean.

All this creates an unusual, but spectacular sight at Brussels Airport. As an airport is not made to park so many aircraft at the same time, a taxiway even had to be cleared.

One might think that after parking and locking an aircraft, there’s nothing left to do but wait until it can take off again. But in reality, the Brussels Airlines Maintenance & Engineering teams are kept quite busy in order to keep the fleet in tip-top shape. Every day, for example, the wheels have to be turned just slightly, to make sure they don’t get worn out under the weight of the aircraft and every week, inspections and tests need to be performed. 30 Maintenance & Engineering colleagues still work full-time to perform all these tasks. They make sure that our fleet is ready to welcome our guests on board once we’re able to take off again.

This series of photos shows the rare sights the Brussels Airlines fleet at the airport. You can download and use the pictures with copyright Brussels Airlines.

Footage of the parking and storage process can be downloaded here (please use Copyright Brussels Airlines)

Preview of the footage:

ABOUT BRUSSELS AIRLINES

Brussels Airlines is Belgium’s national airline, connecting the capital of Europe to more than 80 destinations, whereof 17 in Sub-Saharan Africa, the continent Brussels Airlines considers its second home. Moreover, Brussels Airlines offers 65 destinations in Europe, 3 in North America and Tel Aviv. The company has over 4,000 employees and 48 aircraft operating some 250 flights daily, flying more than 10 million passengers a year to, via and from Brussels Airport. Thanks to its no-compromise positioning, Brussels Airlines combines competitive fares with the highest service quality. With yearly changing Belgian Star Chefs, its wide offer of Belgian food and drinks and the six Belgian Icons, Brussels Airlines is an ambassador of its country, bringing the world to Belgium and the best of Belgium to the world.