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Brussels Airport (BRU)

Last verified: October 2026 · Confirmed by travelers this month: 0

The answer
Take the SNCB/NMBS train from the station under the terminal, on level -1. €6.90 of the ticket is the compulsory Brussels Airport Supplement (the old Diabolo fee) and the total is roughly €11.20–11.80: 11 minutes to Brussels-North, 18 to Central, 23 to Midi, six trains an hour until about midnight.
The station is inside the terminal, so the train beats every road option through Brussels traffic — and there is no metro to the airport at all.
Tight budget? STIB bus 12 to Schuman costs €7.90 when you leave the airport but only €2.40 going the other way.
Landed after midnight? De Lijn's N62 night bus runs to place Rogier twice an hour between 00:55 and 04:45 for €3.

🚆 Every way out — real prices

SNCB/NMBS train (Brussels Airport-Zaventem) BEST FOR MOST
€11.20–11.80
The station is under the arrivals and departures halls at level -1. Six trains an hour run to Brussels-North (11 min), Central (18 min) and Midi (23 min), early morning until around midnight, two of them to the European Quarter. The mandatory €6.90 supplement is already in the price, and you scan the ticket's QR code or your MOBIB card at the gates.
STIB-MIVB Airport Line (bus 12)
€7.90 / €2.40
Line 12 is the only bus to the airport, running to Schuman, Maelbeek and Luxembourg in the EU Quarter. Leaving the airport you need an Airport2City ticket: €7.90 by contactless bank card or MOBIB, €8.40 on paper, €52 for ten journeys, €68 for the season. Travelling to the airport any ordinary STIB ticket works — €2.40 contactless, €2.90 paper.
De Lijn buses 272 / 471 / 620 and night bus N62
€3
A De Lijn single costs €3, bought contactlessly on the bus or in the app, valid 60 minutes with free transfers. Lines 272 and 471 run to Brussels-North and 272/471/620 to NATO. Between 00:55 and 04:45 the N62 runs every night, twice an hour, from place Rogier via Schaarbeek, Evere, Diegem and Zaventem centre.
Taxi from the airport rank
€44–49
Airport stand taxis run a calibrated meter on Zaventem's official tariff card, not a flat fare: €15 boarding by day or €19.80 at night, both including the first 3 km, then €3.20 per km — about €44 by day and €49 at night for the 12 km to the centre. Waiting time is €45 an hour, and the driver must display the tariff card.
Uber / Bolt
€30–50
Both apps collect at the airport and are usually cheaper than the rank off-peak, but pricing is dynamic and surges at peak times. Follow the app's pin, not the taxi rank.
Pre-booked fixed-price transfer
€45
Several private transfer firms advertise a flat €45 from the airport to central Brussels in a saloon, and €55–60 for a van. Those are contractual prices agreed at booking, not a regulated tariff, and include luggage and waiting time.
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⚠️ The traps (walk past these)

There is no official €45 airport taxi fare

The €45 everyone quotes is a private transfer company's flat rate, not a regulated price. Airport stand taxis run on Zaventem's municipal tariff card — €15 boarding by day or €19.80 at night, first 3 km included, then €3.20/km — about €44–49 to the centre. Brussels' own tariffs (€2.60 pick-up, €2.30/km) govern Brussels taxis, not the airport rank.

Do this: ask to see the tariff card before you get in, and insist on the printed ticket the driver must give you
Bus 12 costs €7.90 only when you leave the airport

The Airport Line is priced in one direction. From the airport you must hold an Airport2City ticket — €7.90 contactless or MOBIB, €8.40 paper — and a normal STIB single, day ticket or Brupass is not valid. In the other direction the same bus takes any ordinary STIB ticket at €2.40.

Do this: buy Airport2City at a GO vending machine or tap your bank card before you board
You can no longer buy a train ticket on board

Since 1 July 2026 SNCB has stopped selling tickets on the train. Board without a valid ticket and the conductor issues a statement of irregularity for a fixed €90, payable within 14 days.

Do this: buy at a machine in the baggage hall or on level -1, or in the SNCB app, before you pass the gates
The €6.90 supplement is not inside every ticket

It is included in Standard, Youth, Senior and Weekend tickets and in season tickets, but must be bought separately for Multi products (Standard Multi, Youth Multi, Local Multi), Eurostar tickets with 'Any Belgian station', and 65B/65C or 901/903/904/909 vouchers. Without it the gate under the terminal will not open.

Do this: check your ticket reads Brussels Airport-Zaventem, and add the €6.90 supplement if you hold a Multi or a voucher
The bus station and the Schuman metro stop have both moved

The bus station is no longer where older maps put it: it sits 100 metres from the arrivals hall on level 0, reached by a covered walkway. And since 2 March 2026 STIB line 12 no longer runs through the Schuman roundabout — the metro interchange is now Maelbeek (lines 1 and 5), with the Schuman stop kept via rue Franklin.

Do this: follow the covered walkway to level 0 for the buses, and change onto the metro at Maelbeek

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