In December, Brussels Airlines announced changes to its Africa route network for the upcoming aviation summer season. The airline added plenty of capacity to its existing route network. Hidden beneath, though, was the carrier’s decision to suspend flights between Brussels, Belgium and Luanda, Angola – its longest route. The aircraft on the route will be deployed elsewhere, facilitating additional expansion by bolstering frequencies on existing routes.

Adeus, Angola

Brussels Airlines’ primary focus on the long-haul front is Africa. The airline describes itself as the “expert” in terms of flights to Africa and is one of the key players on the market from Europe. In addition, its position within the Lufthansa Group and resulting transatlantic partnership with Air Canada and United Airlines, means it attracts a significant number of passengers from the US and Canada travel via Brussels onwards to Africa.

The carrier’s Africa route network is a bit complex. Many flights operate a triangular routing, which also includes the Luanda service, which attaches to a few of the airline’s Kinshasa flights. Take a look at the map below for a clearer picture.

map (6)

Photo: GCMap

Currently, Brussels Airlines offers five non-stop, terminator flights to Kinshasa on the Airbus A330. In addition to these, two flights per week operate on the Brussels-Luanda-Kinshasa-Brussels routing. By suspending the Luanda flight, Brussels Airlines will increase the number of frequencies on the terminator services to Kinshasa up to daily. For passengers looking to fly to Luanda, Brussels Airlines says parent company Lufthansa continues to offer flights from its Frankfurt hub. In a statement to Simple Flying, the airline clarified:

As with many of our passengers traveling to/from sub-Saharan Africa, the large majority of passengers fly from Brussels onwards to their final destination. By eliminating the intermediate stop, we offer a more attractive product for passengers flying to Kinshasa and for passengers for Luanda. As both markets will have a direct flight (not triangular) to a Lufthansa Group hub (Brussels or Frankfurt, respectively), where or passengers can connect to their final destination.

Indeed, for those flying between Luanda and another destination in Europe such as Lyon, France, the itinerary with Brussels Airlines is quite tiresome, requiring two stops (Luanda-Kinshasa-Brussels-Lyon). Lufthansa’s flights to and from Luanda are direct terminator services.

Brussels Airlines Airbus A330

Photo: M.J.J. de Vaan | Shutterstock

Brussels Airlines’ final flight to Luanda as SN359 will be on March 25, 2025, departing Brussels at 10:30 local time.

Brussels Airlines’ longest routes

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, Brussels Airlines’ longest routes are as shown below.

Terminator services are a type of routing where the aircraft returns to its origin point after reaching its destination (eg BRU-JFK-BRU). In other words, the plane does not go to a second destination before returning to the origin point, known as a triangular service,

Distance in miles (km)

African origin/destination point

Notes

4,147 (6,674)

Luanda (LAD)

Triangular service (BRU-LAD-FIH-BRU)

4,071 (6,552)

Nairobi (NBO)

Combination of BRU-KGL-NBO-BRU triangular flights and direct BRU-NBO-BRU terminator flights.

4,013 (6,458)

Bujumbura (BJM)

Triangular BRU-BJM-EBB-BRU routing.

3,942 (6,344)

Kigali (KGL)

Combination of two triangular flights: BRU-KGL-EBB-BRU and BRU-KGL-NBO-BRU.

3,892 (6,264)

Washington-Dulles (IAD)

Summer seasonal, terminator.

3,867 (6,223)

Entebbe (EBB)

Combination of two triangular flights: BRU-KGL-EBB-BRU and BRU-BJM-EBB-BRU.

3,862 (6,215)

Kinshasa (FIH)

Terminator once Luanda is suspended.

3,667 (5,901)

New York-JFK (JFK)

Terminator service,

3,267 (5,258)

Yaounde (NSI)

Triangular BRU-DLA-NSI-BRU routing.

3,244 (5,221)

Douala (DLA)

Triangular BRU-DLA-NSI-BRU routing.

A quick look at Brussels Airlines’ Africa network reveals Luanda as the obvious outlier in terms of distance. With Luanda gone as of the end of March, Nairobi (which was resumed just last year) will become the airline’s new longest route. ​​​​​​

Screenshot 2025-03-12 at 14.41.43

Photo: Cirium

Long-haul flights to the United States (namely New York-JFK and seasonal Washington Dulles services) are not as long but still make the top ten list as shown above. Keep in mind that Brussels Airlines does not have that many long-haul destinations, so the above list reflects a large part of its network.

Over the next few years, as Brussels Airlines receives more Airbus A330s (one new aircraft per annum is the current plan), more of its African services will become terminator as well. A lack of aircraft capacity has meant triangular services are an efficient and easy solution to serve more long-haul destinations.

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