European Air Transport
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

European Air Transport N.V./S.A. (EAT) was a
cargo airline Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of air cargo, cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airli ...
headquartered in
Brussels Airport Brussels Airport is the main international airport of Belgium. It is located in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, northeast of Brussels. Also informally known as Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport, Brussels ...
(Building 4–5) and in Zaventem,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, founded in 1971 and dissolved in 2010. It expanded by contracting with
DHL Worldwide Express DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...
in 1985, became a member of the
DHL Group Deutsche Post AG (), trade name, trading as DHL Group, is a German multinational corporation, multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies ...
a year later, operating the DHL-branded parcel and express services in Europe. It became a part of the
International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
(IATA) in 1993. After 2002 the airline was owned by
Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...
with their takeover of DHL. In February 2010, European Air Transport Belgium was dissolved and merged with
European Air Transport Leipzig European Air Transport Leipzig GmbH – often shortened to EAT Leipzig or EAT-LEJ – is a German cargo airline with its head office and main hub on the grounds of Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Saxony. It is wholly owned by Deutsche Po ...
.


History

European Air Transport was founded in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
in 1971 as an
air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...
service by two pilots, Pirlot de Corbion and Dessain. EAT started with two aircraft, a Beechcraft Queen Air and a Gardan Horizon. In response to the need for pilots in the Belgian market, EAT began a pilot training school. In 1973, EAT was the first Piper Flying Centre in Europe. In 1985, EAT expanded its activities by contracting with
DHL Worldwide Express DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...
. Previously, DHL had selected Brussels Airport as its European hub. The co-operation between EAT and DHL was so successful that in 1986, DHL decided to make EAT part of the
DHL Group Deutsche Post AG (), trade name, trading as DHL Group, is a German multinational corporation, multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies ...
, and thus became the major DHL airline with service to Europe and Africa. On January 19, 1993, EAT became a member of the
International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
. In that same year, EAT obtained the necessary permits to transport various
dangerous goods Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabically abbreviate ...
and live animals. In 2002,
Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...
completed the takeover of DHL, making EAT a wholly owned subsidiary. In October 2004, Deutsche Post announced that
Brussels Airport Brussels Airport is the main international airport of Belgium. It is located in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, northeast of Brussels. Also informally known as Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport, Brussels ...
would no longer be DHL's major hub for Europe starting in 2008. This was due to the failure of the
Belgian Federal Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( ; ; ) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretaries of state ("junior", or deputy-ministers who do not sit in the Council of Ministers) drawn from the politi ...
and Deutsche Post to reach an agreement on a framework to permit DHL to expand its future flight operations at Brussels airport. Instead, Deutsche Post decided to make Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany its international hub. EAT's headquarters were re-located in
Schkeuditz Schkeuditz (; ) is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 12km northwest of Leipzig. Leipzig/Halle Airport is located in Schkeuditz. The letter processing center for ...
, with daily flights to all major cities in Europe. EAT obtained a license for scheduled and unscheduled cargo flights all over the world. Through a merger agreement dated February 10, 2010, European Air Transport N.V. was dissolved, and its assets incorporated by the
European Air Transport Leipzig European Air Transport Leipzig GmbH – often shortened to EAT Leipzig or EAT-LEJ – is a German cargo airline with its head office and main hub on the grounds of Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Saxony. It is wholly owned by Deutsche Po ...
GmbH. They merged on March 26, 2010.


Fleet

European Air Transport had formerly operated the following aircraft:


Accidents and incidents

*On 22 November 2003, an Airbus A300B4-200F (registered as OO-DLL) was struck on the left wing tip by a
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...
shortly after takeoff from Baghdad, Iraq. The damage resulted in a fire and complete loss of hydraulic flight control systems. The crew returned to Baghdad, there were no injuries.


See also

* List of defunct airlines of Belgium


References

6."2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident", ''Wikipedia'', 2021-03-21, retrieved 2021-04-08 http://www.cmb.be/business-structure.html#ASL Aviation


External links

*
DHL
{{Airlines of Belgium Defunct airlines of Belgium Airlines established in 1971 Airlines disestablished in 2010 Defunct cargo airlines DHL Belgian companies established in 1971 Zaventem Cargo airlines of Belgium Companies based in Flemish Brabant 2010 disestablishments in Belgium