Special delivery: behind the scenes at Brussels Airport's animal terminal
Pandas, lions, hippos, sharks, tarantulas ... they’re all in a day’s work for the staff of the Animal Care & Inspection Centre (ACIC) at Brussels Airport, which is marking five years since its opening.
The dozen staff at the animal terminal usually deal with more day-to-day species such as dogs, horses, cats or crates full of insects. But the centre makes the news when exotic species pass through, such as nearly 500 alpacas at once in 2020, or more recently when three giant pandas left Pairi Daiza animal park for China and three rare golden stub-nosed monkeys arrived.
Before the creation of the centre, animals were handled by the airline they travelled with. But there were often no specific facilities: they stayed in their crates, could not drink and were not let out.
“They were actually treated like ordinary cargo,” ACIC manager Ann Goovaerts told reporters on Tuesday at the centre’s fifth anniversary celebration.
Things are different at the ACIC, which covers an area of 2,000 square metres. There are horse stalls, rooms for dogs, cats or birds, refrigerators for insects, gardens and other facilities. The light, temperature and ventilation can be adjusted for each room according to the species.
Animals leaving by plane are completely separated from animals arriving, to avoid contamination, and there is a border control post of the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain, where imported animals are checked.
“The number of animals that have passed through here is impressive: they come in all shapes and sizes, from all corners of the world,” said Geert Aerts, the head of Brucargo, Brussels Airport’s cargo department. “In just a few years, ACIC has become a leading European centre for animal transport.”
The transport of live animals is a niche market, but it constitutes one of Brucargo’s four main segments alongside pharma, e-commerce and perishables.
Opened in 2020, it was the first centre in Europe to meet new European standards for animal welfare in air transport. 10,000 mammals have passed through the centre in five years.
"The number of animals that have passed through here is impressive: they come in all shapes and sizes, from all corners of the world"
Not all animals travelling by plane have to pass through the ACIC: travellers can also take their dog or cat through the passenger terminal. Each airline has its own rules, but usually animals up to 8kg are allowed in a sturdy cage with the passenger in the cabin. larger animals are placed in a cargo hold.
Animals must always have a valid European pet passport, be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA VIDEO / PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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