Hopeful for the turn of the century

New lines to Hamburg by Air Hamburg and one to Zurich by Air Engiadina were short-lived, while a new tradition - the annual Stampe Fly In - was born. The departure hall was refreshed. After 50 years, a seaplane lands on the Scheldt. In 1993 Freddy Van Gaever's new initiative starts: the Flemish Air Transport Company (VLM) is a fact. The airport building will be enlarged and refreshed.

The curtain soon fell on Hamburg Airlines due to too little interest. The promised BAe.146 on the London line did not materialise, thanks to the pilot unions.

After a career of 40 years, airport commander Jos Ghoos said goodbye to “his” airport in December 1990. In 1991, Minister Sauwens opened the renovated departure hall and mentioned a tunnel for the Krijgsbaan. However, without making any concrete promises. The RAAC celebrated its 65th anniversary in 1992 with a real airshow “Devil's Day” - remembering to the death of Jan Olieslagers 50 years earlier. More than 50,000 spectators attended the spectacle. At the same time, there was an exhibition about Antwerp's aviation history in “de Boerentoren”.

Freddy Van Gaever announces his latest initiative, the establishment of the Vlaamse Luchttransport Maatschappij - VLM. It started in May 1993 with a scheduled service to London City. New concessions are released for additional hangars and on 13 July 1994 a prefab floor is added to the control tower to improve the visibility of the air traffic controllers. The airport building will be renovated and a part will be added for baggage handling. In 1997, Sabena plans to stop the scheduled service to London Heathrow, while VLM announces additional services to Zurich, among others. In 1998 a new flight school, Ben Air Flight Academy - BAFA, started and VLM also flew to Geneva.

The downer is that, after endless debates and countless studies, the Flemish government decides not to extend the runway to 2000 m.