The nearest airport to Bruges is Ostend-Bruges International Airport, located close to Ostend on the Belgian coast. Bruges is 25km from the airport. This is a very small airport with very few flights. Getting through the airport on arrival and departure is a relaxed affair. The airport is at its busiest in the summer, when it operates flights for the Belgian package holiday industry. There are a couple of bar/restaurants.
Fast Eurostar train connections with London mean Ostend-Bruges International Airport has missed out on the low-cost flight boom seen at Belgian airports like Brussels International and Brussels Charleroi. Low-cost airline Ryanair introduced a route to Ostend-Bruges in 2003 but discontinued the route in the same year. It remains to be seen if the elegant attractions of Bruges become accessible by plane from the UK in the future.
Nieuwpoortsesteenweg 889
8400 Ostend
Belgium.
Tel: 32 59551211
Website: www.ost.aero
An airport bus (number 6) makes the short journey to Ostend railway station. Buses for the airport leave from platform 15. There are around 3 trains an hour from Ostend to Bruges. The journey takes 15 minutes and costs approximately €4. Buses usually take much longer. Ostend train station is close to the ferry terminal and the bus station.
At present (late 2012) there are no direct flights from the UK. Flights to Ostend Bruges are not a priority with low-cost airlines due to the convenience of the Eurostar train service from Waterloo and ferry services to Ostend.
