Brussels Airport in the context of "Zaventem"

Mechelen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɛxələ(n)] ; French: Malines [malin] ; historically known as Mechlin in English) is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel (a few kilometers away), as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The river Dyle (Dijle) flows through the city, hence it is often referred to as the Dijlestad ("City on the Dyle").

Mechelen lies on the major urban and industrial axis Brussels–Antwerp, about 25 km (16 mi) from each city. Inhabitants find employment at Mechelen's southern industrial and northern office estates, as well as at offices or industry near the capital and Brussels Airport, or at industrial plants near Antwerp's seaport.

Sabena Flight 548 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Idlewild Airport in New York City to Brussels Airport in Belgium. On 15 February 1961, the Boeing 707-329 operating the flight crashed on approach to Brussels Airport, killing all 72 people on board and one person on the ground. The fatalities included the entire United States figure skating team, which was traveling to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The precise cause of the crash remains unknown; the most likely explanation was thought to be a failure of the mechanism that adjusts the tail stabilizer.

This was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 707 in regular passenger service; it happened 28 months after the 707 airliner had been placed into commercial use. It remains the deadliest plane crash to have occurred on Belgian soil.

Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew training. It is a member of the Star Alliance as well as the International Air Transport Association. The airline's IATA code SN is inherited from its predecessors, Sabena and SN Brussels Airlines. Brussels Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group. The company slogan is ′You’re in good company′.

Machelen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑxələ(n)]) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Diegem and Machelen proper. On 1 January 2006, Machelen had a total population of 12,500. The total area is 11.59 km (4.47 sq mi), which gives a population density of 1,078/km (2,790/sq mi). The official language of Machelen is Dutch, as in the rest of Flanders. A suburb of Brussels, Machelen directly borders the Brussels-Capital Region, specifically the Haren neighbourhood.

A portion of Brussels Airport is located in Diegem, together with neighbouring town of Zaventem. The municipality contains three major road junctions: the intersection of the Brussels Ring (R0) and A201 serving the airport (labelled Zaventem), the start of the A1 towards Mechelen and Antwerp fed by the ring road, and the first junction on the A1 meeting the N211 feeder road from Vilvoorde, also accessing the airport. Buda railway station (on Belgian railway line 25) serves part of the area, although only Service S1 stops there, other routes using Vilvoorde railway station further north.