Phoenix to Brussels Flights (PHX to BRU): Connections, Flight Time and Getting into the City

One connection, in London, Germany or a US hub

There is no nonstop between Phoenix and Brussels. Phoenix Sky Harbor's transatlantic nonstops go to London and, seasonally, Frankfurt, and Brussels Airlines does not serve Arizona, so PHX to BRU is a one-stop trip. Brussels is well placed for connections from almost any European hub, so the choice is wide.

As of recent schedules, the practical routings are:

• British Airways or American via London Heathrow. Both fly Phoenix to London, and British Airways flies London to Brussels several times a day. If you arrive at one terminal and leave from another, allow two hours.
• Condor via Frankfurt, seasonally. Condor flies Phoenix to Frankfurt in the summer season, and Brussels is a short hop from there on Lufthansa or Brussels Airlines. Check whether the Condor flight is operating for your dates.
• United via Chicago, Newark or Washington. United flies to Brussels from all three hubs, and Brussels Airlines, its Star Alliance partner, operates some of those flights. The domestic leg from Phoenix adds three to four hours.
• Delta via Atlanta or New York. Delta's own transatlantic network reaches Brussels from New York JFK in some seasons, and otherwise connects through Amsterdam or Paris with KLM or Air France, which adds a second European hop.

For a trip to Brussels itself, the London routing is usually the quickest. If you are heading on to Bruges, Ghent or Antwerp, consider arriving in Brussels and taking the train rather than hunting for a flight to a smaller airport.

Distance and total time

Phoenix to Brussels is roughly 5,450 miles (about 8,800 km) on the great circle. A nonstop would take around ten and a half hours; with one connection, expect 13 to 17 hours door to door. Via London the Atlantic leg is about 10 hours and the London to Brussels hop about an hour. Via a US hub the domestic leg is three to four hours and the Atlantic leg 7 to 8.

The outbound from Phoenix is an evening departure landing in Europe the next morning or midday. The return is a daytime trip, with the westbound Atlantic leg running up to an hour longer and a late-afternoon or evening arrival in Phoenix.

Leaving from Sky Harbor

Phoenix Sky Harbor has two terminals in use, Terminal 3 and Terminal 4. American, British Airways and Southwest use Terminal 4; Delta, United and most other airlines use Terminal 3, and Condor has used Terminal 4 in recent seasons. Check your terminal the day before. The free PHX Sky Train links both terminals with the economy parking, the rental car centre and the Valley Metro light rail station at 44th Street, so you can reach the airport from downtown or Tempe without a car.

For an evening long-haul departure from Terminal 4, three hours ahead is sensible, because the British Airways and American international departures leave in the same window as the evening domestic wave. Phoenix summer heat is not a factor inside the terminals, but it does affect aircraft weight limits on the hottest days, and an airline may ask for volunteers if a long flight is restricted.

Arriving at Brussels Airport and getting into town

Brussels Airport at Zaventem has a single terminal with two piers: Pier A for Schengen flights and Pier B for non-Schengen arrivals, including those from the US and the UK. Immigration for a US passport is normally quick outside the early-morning wave of transatlantic arrivals, and the EU's Entry/Exit System now records biometrics on first entry.

The airport is about 12 km north-east of the centre, and the railway station is directly under the terminal:

• Train. Trains run from the airport station to Brussels North, Central and Midi in 15 to 25 minutes, several times an hour, with onward connections to Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges and Leuven. A small airport supplement is added to the fare.
• Airport Line bus. Line 12 runs to the European quarter and the city centre; useful if your hotel is near Schuman or Luxembourg.
• Taxi or ride-hailing. 20 to 45 minutes to the centre depending on the ring road, from the official rank outside arrivals.

If you are continuing to Paris, Amsterdam or London, the Eurostar leaves from Brussels Midi, one train ride from the airport.

Entry rules for Belgium

Belgium is in the Schengen area. As of recent rules, US passport holders can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa, with a passport valid for three months beyond departure and issued within the last ten years. The Entry/Exit System replaces passport stamps with a biometric record, and the ETIAS pre-travel authorisation is expected to become mandatory once it launches. Check the Belgian Foreign Affairs site and the EU's official travel pages before you book.

If you connect in London, you pass through UK transit rules as well; confirm whether the UK Electronic Travel Authorisation applies to your itinerary.

When to go

Late April to June and September to early October are the best months for Brussels: mild, often dry, with long evenings and the Grand Place full of terraces. July and August are the busiest, with the Ommegang pageant in early July and the Belgian national holiday on the twenty-first. Winter is grey and damp but December brings the Christmas market and light shows in the centre.

Fares from Phoenix peak in the US summer holidays, over Christmas and New Year, and around spring break. The quieter and cheaper windows are late January to March and November. Because every itinerary connects, booking two to four months ahead gives you a choice of hubs; the London routing fills first in summer.

Time difference and jet lag

Brussels is on Central European Time, UTC plus one, with summer time from late March to late October. Arizona does not observe daylight saving, so Brussels is eight hours ahead of Phoenix in winter and nine hours ahead when Europe is on summer time.

Eastbound you lose a night on the overnight flight and arrive late morning; a walk in daylight and a normal local bedtime fix most of it by the second day. Westbound is easier, because the daytime flights land in Phoenix in the evening and an early night works.

What travellers on this route get wrong

The common mistakes are booking a Heathrow connection too tight for a terminal change, assuming the time difference is the usual nine hours in winter when Arizona's fixed clock makes it eight, and flying into a smaller Belgian airport when the train from Brussels Airport reaches Bruges or Antwerp faster than the extra connection would. Another is not buying the train ticket with the airport supplement; inspectors do check.