Home - Heathrow - Brussels

Flights

To get to Ivory Coast, we are flying Brussels Airlines via Brussels. When we booked the flights back in March 2024, we had a 3 hours and 10 minutes layover in Brussels, which gives us plenty of time to ensure we can pick up a wheelchair and get from one gate to another.

Unfortunately, both flights changed twice between then and departure time. London to Brussels is now 15 minutes later, while Brussels to Abidjan has changed to depart 1 hour 25 minutes earlier which only leaves us 1 hour 25 minutes layover in Brussels. This worries me. A lot. Even if I was perfectly able bodied and capable of running across the terminal building, that would be cutting it fine, especially if there is a delay leaving London, which can easily happen with inclement weather this time of year. Now that I use wheelchair assistance, it will be very risky, as when we arrive at an airport we not only have to remain seated until all other passengers have disembarked (God forbid that able bodied passengers should be disadvantaged by my disability!), we often have to wait some time for the wheelchair to be brought to the gate. If the flight from London to Brussels is delayed at all – even just half an hour – we would undoubtedly miss the next flight.

The London - Brussels flight has changed from 08:55 to 09:15, and the Brussels to Abidjan from 12:05 to 10:40

We therefore deem it prudent to travel to Brussels the day before, and stay overnight in an airport hotel. Brussels Airlines change us £343 for this privilege, despite the fact that it is their schedule changes that have caused it. We also have to pay for a hotel in Belgium. We find one very close to the airport which offers a free shuttle service.

Visa

Both David and I need a visa to visit Ivory Coast, and we have to apply for authorisation on line prior to travel. The process is a simple form, with a couple of additional documents required: a copy of our airline tickets, and a letter of invitation, which Mark from Undiscovered Destination (the UK company we booked through) provides us with.

Screen prints from their website

The website is in French, but translated to English. Some translations are better than others.

I think they mean 'single'.

We receive our authorisation in two days, so should now be good to go.

Seats

Having paid an extra £100 to select seats on the flights, making sure that we sit on the right hand side of the aircraft so that I can put my poorly left leg into the aisle, we are dismayed to receive an email from Brussels Airlines two days before travel, to inform us that they have changed our seats “for operational reasons”. We are now sitting on the left hand side of the plane, directly in front of the toilet (the seats that don’t recline). I try to change the seats back to the right hand side on line following the link in the message, but they state that I have to contact the service centre by phone to do that. Obviously they don’t give out a telephone number on that page, you have to search their website to find that. It is a Belgium number – why should I be charged for an expensive phone call to rectify what I have already paid for? I am so not impressed with Brussels Airlines so far.

Part of the message we received

There was a time when air travel was a fun and exciting experience; now it is just one hassle after another from booking the flight, through schedule changes, choosing seats, packing restrictions, increased security, decreased size of aircraft seats, more rowdy passengers (air rage, anyone?), and having to pay extra for so many things that were once included in the tickets. The only thing I can think of that has become easier and more streamlined, is applying for visas, as many countries now offer online electronic applications. I can remember a time when we’d have to travel to London to queue up at the relevant embassy in order to get our visas stamped in our passports.

Heathrow Airport

We make a point of arriving at Heathrow with plenty of time to try and get the seats changed back to the right side. The lady at the check-in desk understands my predicament, and cannot be more helpful. We manage to secure two seats on the right hand side, just a few rows in front of our original seat selection. She has no idea why the airline changed our seats at the last minute.

Special Assistance

For all my previous criticism of Brussels Air, the process of booking Special Assistance was smooth, easy and quick, all I had to do was send them an email, and I received confirmation the very next day.

One of my pet hates about Special Assistance, is that at almost every airport there is a holding area where they gather all those people who require wheelchairs in one place. I can see the operational logistics behind it, but why does this area have to be tucked away in a corner (or even in some grotty back room as we have known in the past), far away from any and all services at the airport. Disabled people need to eat too, and may wish even to buy Duty Free. I am therefore pleasantly surprised when the porter pushing me here at Heathrow asks if I would like to stop at a café to grab a take-away to eat in the holding area. We do just that, with me going for a Korean BBQ Wrap, and David getting a felafel bowl.

David in the Holding Area

Me

The view from the Holding Area

Having checked our luggage in all the way to Abidjan, we are a little bit concerned when we receive this message from Brussels Airlines:

The flight is going via Monrovia, but I do hope the luggage continues to Abidjan

We double check the luggage tags, just to be sure, and heave a sigh of relief when they say Abidjan.

The transfer buggy is late picking us up to take us to the gate, making us almost the last people to board, rather than the first, which means standing around in the aisle waiting for people in front to load their bags into the overhead compartments, find their glasses and reading material, take their sweaters off, and generally being totally oblivious to those people waiting to get past them. It’s a bit annoying to be arriving late, as we were at the airport four hours before departure time. The good news is, the flight is only around half full so we can spread out.

Brussels Airport

As usual, I fall into a nice little sleep on the plane, and wake with a jolt as we land. A nice powered wheelchair is waiting for me just outside the door of the plane, with a really friendly chap driving it. I could have sworn I heard David saying something about me in the electric chair, but I could have been wrong. We travel down a long corridor until we reach a door through which he cannot take the chair. Pointing at a row of chairs, he asks us to take a seat while he goes off to get a buggy for the next part of the journey.

Returning with the buggy

If I thought the previous corridors were long, they are nothing compared with the extensive tunnels in the underbelly of the airport, completely devoid of any human life. I find it almost spooky and rather surreal, like being in a James Bond movie.

The last part of the journey through the metropolis that is Brussels Airport, is down in the lift in a manual wheelchair. The porter takes us all the way to the exit to the car park and bus station, where David takes over pushing the chair the short distance to the bus stop - which is easy as we only have the two carry-on bags with us here, having checked the main luggage all the way to Abidjan (we hope). NH, our airport hotel, offers a free shuttle service to and from the airport, which is one of the reasons I chose that hotel (that, and the price!). Debating long and hard before we left home, we decided not to take any winter coats with us for this one overnight stay in Brussels, as Ivory Coast is likely to have temperatures in the mid-30s Centigrade during the day and high 20s at night. The 15 minute wait for the shuttle bus to turn up, seems a lot longer when the only protection I have from the -4 °C and light snow flurries, is a thin cardigan.

Do I look cold? I was b****y freezing!

NH Hotel

We are the only passengers in the small mini-bus shuttle, and the journey to the hotel takes just a few minutes. The hotel is modern, with a very pleasant room.

Dinner

As the time is now nearly 22:00, we head straight for the bar, hoping they may have some snacks available. We are delighted to find that the main restaurant is still serving food, and both order a veal schnitzel and a glass or red wine.

David in the restaurant

The schnitzel is served with a light and fresh salad with potatoes and radishes. The meal is not too heavy and not too large, with the lemon counteracting the creaminess of the salad dressing.

Cheers!

And so to bed on the first day of what promises to be an exciting adventure.