Atlanta-Brussels nonstop route returns for the summer

But since March of 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been no nonstop service between the two cities — until this week, when Delta Air Lines relaunched the flights.

It becomes Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s 81st international destination, and the seasonal flight will run three times weekly through Oct. 24.

Since Raeymaekers took the job 10 months ago, “it was the first question I always got: When do we get the direct flights back to Brussels?” she told the crowd at a ribbon cutting on the E Concourse on Tuesday.

Georgia has the highest concentration of Belgian businesses among American states, Belgian Consul Eline Goovaerts confirmed to the AJC.

As of last fall there were at least 50 Belgian companies here employing nearly 4,500 Georgians, according to the state.

The country first established a consular presence in Georgia in 1834.

Last year, the relationship represented $4.8 billion in trade, the airport’s chief financial officer, Bryan Benefiel, said Tuesday.

The relaunch of the Brussels route will bring “critical connectivity at a time when global engagement is more important than ever,” he said.

Brussels has the headquarters of the EU’s European Commission and NATO.

“This connectivity is what leads to business,” agreed Coryn Marsik, director of international investment at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Business follows connectivity.”

Raeymaekers acknowledged that the recent trade policies coming out of Washington have pushed some businesses into a “wait and see” mode.

But she said the groundwork of Belgian business in Georgia will allow the relationship to weather the uncertainty.

“These investments are there. And these people still need to travel. So, yes, there might be temporary lesser demand. But there is a fixed, steady” demand from those existing businesses, she said.

Raeymaekers, who took the inaugural flight Tuesday, added she’s hopeful this seasonal route will be made permanent.

And while Tuesday’s trip likely didn’t feature caviar and Maine lobster, she noted that all Delta flights feature a taste of Belgium: through its signature Belgian Biscoff cookies.