Brussels South Charleroi Airport, also called Charleroi Airport or Gosselies Airport, is the second largest airport in Brussels. It is served predominantly by the economy airline Ryan Air, together with charter carriers Jetairfly, Wizz Air and other seasonal holiday charters. South Charleroi Airport is located 46 kilometres south of central Brussels and owned by the Government of Walloon Region. It is operated by Société Wallonne des Aéroports.
The airport is neatly packaged with an adequate amount of gates, check-in desks, and a generous amount of aircraft stands. It has all the usual airport facilities including a bank, currency exchange, a VIP lounge and Wi-Fi Internet access, with restaurants, shops and car rental agencies in addition to duty-free shops situated beyond customs and immigration.
The airport has an excellent choice of ground transportation, including public buses and trains that run frequent services between the airport and Charleroi-Sud, including the Brussels City Shuttle, Shuttle Lille and Shuttle Luxemburg. Taxis are available outside the passenger terminal, and car rental agencies have offices in the passenger terminal with motorways A54 and E42 close by.
South Charleroi Airport started in 1919 as a flight school, and several years later it was agreed that the Fairey aircraft factory could be accommodated there too. In the 1920s, the Belgian Air Force set out to replace its old aircraft, as Belgian officers who had attended a British Hendon Air Display were impressed with the display of Fairey Firefly aircraft and was awarded the contract for 45 Firefly II aircraft to be built there.