Liège Airport

Liege Airport^[a] (IATA: LGG, ICAO: EBLG), previously called Liege-Bierset Airport,^[b] is an international airport located in Grâce-Hollogne, 5 nautical miles (9.3 kilometres; 5.8 miles) west^[1] of the city of Liège, Wallonia, 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 Aéroport de Liège
IATA: LGG ICAO: EBLG
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Walloon government & private investors
Operator	Liege Airport s.a.
Serves	Liège
Location	Grâce-Hollogne, Liège Province, Wallonia, Belgium
Hub for	ASL Airlines Belgium CAL Cargo Air Lines CMA CGM Air Cargo Ethiopian Cargo FedEx Express Qatar Airways Cargo
Operating base for	TUI fly Belgium
Elevation AMSL	201 m / 659 ft
Coordinates	50°38′11″N 005°26′34″E
Website	www.liegeairport.com
Map
LGG/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 2023, TUI fly Belgium is the only airline offering scheduled and seasonal passenger flights at Liege Airport.^[5]

Airlines	Destinations
TUI fly Belgium[6]	Alicante,[7] Gran Canaria,[7] Kayseri,[7] Málaga,[7] Tenerife–South[7] Seasonal: Casablanca,[8] Djerba, Enfidha, Heraklion,[8] Nador,[9] Palma de Mallorca,[8] Rhodes,[8] Tangier[8]

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Air Canada Cargo[10]	Basel/Mulhouse, Toronto–Pearson
Air China Cargo[11]	Hangzhou,[12] Shanghai–Pudong
ASL Airlines Belgium[13]	Chicago–O'Hare, Halifax, Hangzhou, Jinan, New York–JFK, Shanghai–Pudong, Tokyo–Narita
Atlas Air[14][15]	Almaty, Atlanta, Birmingham (AL), Chicago–O'Hare, Indianapolis, Mexico City–AIFA, Miami, Milan–Malpensa, Seoul–Incheon, Singapore, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Zaragoza
Beijing Capital Airlines[16]	Nanchang
CAL Cargo Air Lines[17]	Atlanta, Larnaca, Mexico City, New York–JFK, Oslo, Tel Aviv, Toronto–Pearson
China Cargo Airlines[18]	Yantai
CMA CGM Air Cargo[19]	Atlanta, Chicago–O'Hare, Hong Kong
Compass Cargo Airlines	Sofia, Zhengzhou[20]
Ethiopian Cargo[21]	Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Budapest, Chongqing, Copenhagen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Johannesburg–O.R. Tambo, Juba, Lagos, Miami, New York–JFK, Shanghai–Pudong, Zaragoza
FedEx Feeder[22]	Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Munich, Milan–Malpensa, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Vienna
Icelandair Cargo[23]	Reykjavík–Keflavík
Magma Aviation[24]	Abuja, Accra, Atlanta, Bamako, Brazzaville, Chicago–O'Hare, Douala, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Entebbe, Greenville/Spartanburg, Hong Kong, Johannesburg–O.R. Tambo, Kigali, Kinshasa–N'djili, Lagos, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Mumbai, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, Niamey, Ouagadougou
MNG Airlines[25]	Istanbul, New York–JFK, Toronto–Pearson
MSC Air Cargo[26]	Atlanta, Indianapolis, Mexico City–AIFA, Seoul–Incheon
My Freighter Airlines	Zhengzhou[27]
Network Aviation Group[28]	Abuja, Accra, Bangui, Brazzaville, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Entebbe, Hong Kong, Lagos, Libreville, Luanda, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, New York–JFK, Port Harcourt
Qatar Airways Cargo[29]	Atlanta, Chicago–O'Hare, Doha, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Mexico City
SF Airlines[30]	Qingdao

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,^[31] which was bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City 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.^[32]

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 (Eurostar, 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

Notes

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