Why Are Brussels To Tel Aviv Travellers Arriving Without Their Baggage? A Travel Agent Explains

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In recent days, many charedim who live in Antwerp and travel to Israel via Brussels Airlines have complained about the airline’s baggage service.

The passengers claimed that time after time they land in Ben Gurion airport and then discover that their baggage has not arrived, causing them immense annoyance and distress. The phenomenon apparently only occurs on the Brussels-Tel Aviv route and only for those travelling on Brussels Airlines.

Dovid Brennig, the owner of the “First Class Travel” Travel Agency and a resident of Antwerp, said that he had received many complaints and they were correct but the reason for the baggage issue was not anti-semitism or intended targeting of Jews or Israelis.

The real reason according to Brennig is due to a weight issue on the plane. “The plane travels with far more fuel from Brussels to Tel Aviv in comparison with other destinations of the same distance. The reason is that if it will be impossible to land in Tel Aviv due to security tensions, the plane will be forced to return to Brussels or land in another country and therefore carries a large payload of fuel and is very heavy. Thus the plane cannot carry all the baggage and it is sent on in later flights,” Brennig claimed.