Brussels ↔ Frankfurt
Catching a long-haul flight in Frankfurt? A Van Business in lounge layout from Brussels or Liège, night-time departures, breaks on request and a fixed price.
Frankfurt Airport
Sometimes the most convenient connection to Asia or the Americas — the one at the right time or the right price — leaves from Frankfurt. Germany's largest airport and the hub of the Lufthansa Group, it serves dozens of cities in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas every day. For travellers from Brussels, Liège or the East Cantons, getting there by road does away with a feeder flight and a tight connection, along with the risk of lost luggage that comes with it. The one thing to accept is the distance: just over 400 kilometres, or nearly four and a half hours on the road without traffic.
You may as well put this long journey to good use. The Van Business, in a lounge layout with facing seats and tinted windows, lets you work, go through a presentation with a colleague or sleep before a night flight. Breaks are agreed with the driver, at the service areas along the motorway: a coffee, a short walk, and you are on your way again. The route itself is simple: the E40 to Aachen, the A4 towards Cologne, then the A3 through the Westerwald and the Taunus to the Frankfurter Kreuz, the interchange next to the airport. A solo traveller may prefer a Business sedan, or the Prestige class on quotation.
The timetables often mean setting off at night. No scheduled flights take off or land at Frankfurt between 23:00 and 05:00, so the first long-haul flights land at dawn, and a mid-morning take-off means leaving Brussels at around 02:00 or 03:00. One last point, the terminal: Terminal 1 serves the Lufthansa Group and its Star Alliance partners, while most other airlines operate from Terminal 3, on the south side of the airport. Each has its own motorway access: check your ticket, and the driver will take care of the rest.
- Van Business in lounge layout, with facing seats and tinted windows, to work or sleep over four hours on the road.
- Breaks on request at the service areas on the A4 and A3, for a coffee or a phone call.
- Drop-off at Terminal 1 or Terminal 3, each served by its own motorway exit.
- Departure possible from Liège, Verviers or Eupen, right on the E40.
- Dawn long-haul arrivals tracked in real time, so you can head for Belgium as soon as you have your luggage.
Your transfer to Frankfurt
Terminal 1 or Terminal 3: which should I give for Frankfurt?+
The one shown on your ticket or in your airline's app. Terminal 1 serves the Lufthansa Group and its Star Alliance partners; most other airlines operate from Terminal 3, on the south side of the airport, which has its own exit from the A5. The SkyLine automated train links the terminals, but being dropped at the right place spares you that transfer with your suitcases in tow.
Four and a half hours to Frankfurt: can we stop for breaks?+
Yes, and over such a distance it is even advisable. There are service areas all along the A4 and A3: just tell the driver when you would like to stop. A longer stop or a detour, such as a meeting in Cologne or a colleague to pick up in Aachen, should be planned in advance: mention it when booking or send a quote request, so that the schedule allows for it.
My flight leaves at 09:00: what time should I leave Brussels?+
At around 01:00. The calculation adds up nearly four and a half hours of driving without traffic, the check-in time set by your airline for a long-haul flight, often between two and three hours, and a margin for roadworks or traffic jams, particularly around Cologne. Book this night-time departure well in advance: your request is confirmed by email, and on the night itself all you have to do is bring your suitcases downstairs.
I live in Liège or Eupen: is the journey to Frankfurt shorter?+
Yes, by about an hour. The E40 passes close by: allow roughly three and a quarter hours from Liège and barely three hours from Eupen, without traffic. Enter the address you are actually leaving from: the fixed price, calculated per kilometre for a distance like this, is displayed before you confirm. The return journey can also drop you directly in the east of the country, without going back via Brussels.
A transfer to Frankfurt?
Book online, by phone or on WhatsApp — fixed price confirmed before departure.