Czech carrier Smartwings operated its first scheduled service between Prague and Brussels Airport (BRU) this morning, marking the airline’s official entry into the Belgian market. The inaugural flight SW 1590 landed at 08:25 and was welcomed with a traditional water-cannon salute before taxiing to Pier A, where airport and airline officials held a short ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The route forms part of Smartwings’ winter 2025/26 expansion in which seven European cities are added to the network over the 23-26 October weekend. According to the carrier, Brussels will see the highest frequency of the new launches: 12 rotations per week using 189-seat Boeing 737-8 aircraft configured with both Business and Economy cabins. Fares start at €75 one-way, including an 8 kg carry-on bag, with fully-flexible and Business fares aimed squarely at corporate travellers shuttling between EU institutions and Central Europe.
For Belgium, the service restores a high-frequency point-to-point connection that was lost when Brussels Airlines trimmed its Prague schedule during the pandemic. Travel-management companies say demand has rebounded sharply; Eurostat data show Prague was the sixth-largest origin city for business travellers to Brussels in 2024. The new flights give corporates an alternative to Lufthansa’s hubs and to slower rail options via Germany.
Brussels Airport management emphasises that the additional frequency helps spread peak-hour demand created by the autumn school holidays and the concurrent phased roll-out of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES). Slot coordination data indicate the new Smartwings rotations add roughly 4 % seat capacity on the BRU–PRG city pair, while remaining within the airport’s night-noise quota.
In the medium term, Smartwings says it is evaluating code-share opportunities with fellow Star Alliance members based at BRU to feed long-haul traffic and has not ruled out basing an aircraft in Belgium for sun-charter flying in summer 2026 if demand materialises.
The route forms part of Smartwings’ winter 2025/26 expansion in which seven European cities are added to the network over the 23-26 October weekend. According to the carrier, Brussels will see the highest frequency of the new launches: 12 rotations per week using 189-seat Boeing 737-8 aircraft configured with both Business and Economy cabins. Fares start at €75 one-way, including an 8 kg carry-on bag, with fully-flexible and Business fares aimed squarely at corporate travellers shuttling between EU institutions and Central Europe.
For Belgium, the service restores a high-frequency point-to-point connection that was lost when Brussels Airlines trimmed its Prague schedule during the pandemic. Travel-management companies say demand has rebounded sharply; Eurostat data show Prague was the sixth-largest origin city for business travellers to Brussels in 2024. The new flights give corporates an alternative to Lufthansa’s hubs and to slower rail options via Germany.
Brussels Airport management emphasises that the additional frequency helps spread peak-hour demand created by the autumn school holidays and the concurrent phased roll-out of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES). Slot coordination data indicate the new Smartwings rotations add roughly 4 % seat capacity on the BRU–PRG city pair, while remaining within the airport’s night-noise quota.
In the medium term, Smartwings says it is evaluating code-share opportunities with fellow Star Alliance members based at BRU to feed long-haul traffic and has not ruled out basing an aircraft in Belgium for sun-charter flying in summer 2026 if demand materialises.
