Brussels Charleroi Airport

I hope the new terminal has better facilities. I found the airport people fine and the Ryanair automatic checkin worked perfectly. The only point I would warn people about was that because it is such a small airport the check in really did close 40 minutes before departure and our 10.40pm scheduled flight was rolled out and airborne by 10.10m ! Not many passengers on it but a great leveller of Ryanair statistics! Don't be late here! Priority boarding a total farce though.

CRL has finally had a cash machine installed an event proudly announced on its website as if it were a very special privilege granted to the passengers. Beware of the said website because it is hardly ever updated and the info on the shuttle bus service to Brussels is misleading. You CANNOT buy your ticket on the bus in spite of what it says and the place is full of disgruntled passengers hauling their gear back into the airport to buy a ticket. Amazingly this has been going on for at least a year and will continue to do so because this airport clearly follows a strict policy of ignoring all complaints and e-mails. Still the coach is the least bad way of getting to Brussels as the local bus and train schedules are hopelessly mismatched. Another major pain at this airport is the lack of seating and practically nothing to do landside and absolutely nothing to do airside. Boarding is invariably annoying as the hapless staff makes no attempt to control the free-for-all. All you can hope for is that things will change with the new terminal due to open "in 2007". Until then bring something to read and to eat and prepare to have your patience tested.

I agree with most of the comments made about this airport. The catering is basic and not very appetising and the terminal building doesn't look too nice and it really lacks a cash machine. The last time I flew into Charleroi it was a Sunday - the journey took me five hours and it's only 100 miles! I had to wait an hour for the bus to Charleroi train station. As the bus pulled in the train to Brussels pulled out and I had to wait another hour. At Brussels I had to wait about 50 minutes! I think the transport authorities in Belgium need to get their act together. I wonder if things will be much different when the new terminal building opens next year.

Granted you're flying a discount airline out of this airport and therefore should not be expecting much. Still this airport is woeful. Inexplicably there is not a single automatic bank machine in the entire building. Clearly the authorities have no interest in you spending any money there. The smoke-infested cafeteria will not even accept local Belgian bank cards. They will however accept VISA on any purchase over 15euros! Thanks a lot! I boarded my flight starving and thirsty and feeling like a fool for not having packed a picnic before leaving home.

Functional but very basic and cramped. Ryanair and Wizz are the main carriers so the cheap n' cheerful image is perpetuated in the airport's facilities - or lack thereof. The bus link from Brussels departs from rue de France (round the back of the Gare du Midi) - this can be difficult to find if you're unfamiliar with the city and can be pretty crowded. There is also a bus to Charleroi railway station. The security check is very strict; anything metal has to be removed especially belts. The catering facilities are poor - before security there's one rather scruffy smoky cafe plus a few vending machines. It is not at all convenient for Brussels in fact it's about halfway between Brussels and the French border. All-in-all the poor relation to Brussels Airport.

This is a tiny airport. Disembarking is really fast. Once you're in the main area ther is not much you can do. I spent a good hour in the really basic cafeteria waiting for somebody that was going to pick me up. In conclusion it's a really good option if you have to visit the region of Lille/Calais or the south of Belgium. It's clearly not a good option if you want to visit Brussels.

The airport is certainly tiny! Arriving there was good off the plane quick straight onto a connecting bus to Brussels. Staff at the information stand were helpful & spoke English. The outbound journey wasn't as pleasant security was over zealous (having to remove belt watch etc) and very unfriendly. Didn't bother using the 'canteen' in the cupboard (departure lounge 1) and there was a big crush fighting fellow passengers to get on the aircraft. The toilets in the lounge were filthy stinking & graffitid. Having said that for a flight that cost about the same as a pizza it's worth putting up with and I'd use it again.

This airport is like a disused IKEA store cum warehouse. It is tiny and cramped the cafeteria "Sharkeys" is lousy expensive and smoky. Passing through the "drastic" security measures (which they state on their website) means removing EVERY piece of metal - belts watches et al. The "other side" is like hell. You're straight at the gate - no facilities where you sweat it gathering your energies to barge past your fellow passengers and run on to your plane.

Small airports are generally intimate friendly and welcoming. Not so with Charleroi. It is dirty seriously overcrowded at peak times and facilities are terrible. Ryanair does a good job of running a base on these facilities mind. Links to Brussels are good but that's really thanks to Ryanair themselves. Food is terrible and waiting areas are not so conducive to extended stays (extended being anything more than 15 minutes)

Waited an hour in a corridor for baggage but ours was the only arrival in 3 hours. Waited 45 mins for the bus driver to let people on then he went off for a 30 min fag break which meant we missed the connecting train to Brussels we could have walked quicker to town centre. Return journey was even worse with one room which combined a corner shop style duty free school canteen snack bar non segregated smoking area which led to a single stinking toilet. It was a relief when the exits opened and we all made a charge for our non pre-allocated seats. Cheap but not cheerful next time I will pay the extra and fly direct from Manchester to Brussels Zaventem.