Air Belgium, recently acquired by a Dutch company and a British company, will continue its cargo operations under the new name Air One Belgium, announced current and future CEO Niky Terzakis on Friday.
He described the move not as the end of the company but as an “evolution”.
Last week, the Nivelles business court approved the conditions for the takeover of the airline’s cargo operations—excluding passenger services—by a consortium of two companies: Dutch firm PESO Aviation Management and British firm Air One Holding International.
Air One Holding International claims to manage the world’s fifth-largest fleet of large cargo aircraft. The new entity, with its headquarters remaining in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Brabant Wallon, will retain only 197 of the current 401 employees, including pilots. The other 204 employees will not have a role “in the short term” within the new structure. All pilots, who mostly work as freelancers, have been retained.
“The buyer has acquired the Air Belgium brand,” explained Terzakis. He added that the new owners aim to preserve the company’s identity by keeping on the relevant staff.
The current CEO, who is 64 years old, will remain in his position, stating he is “flattered” that the new ownership requested him to stay on.
Air One Belgium is expected to officially launch around late March to early April, taking over Air Belgium’s flight licence and will operate from Brussels Airport, which will be its primary focus initially.
It will start with an existing fleet of four cargo planes, with plans to add two more large aircraft in the first half of 2025.
