{"id":6084,"date":"2026-03-13T14:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/6084\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T14:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:44:14","slug":"celebrating-a-decade-of-brussels-tokyo-connections%ef%bd%9cana-group-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/6084\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating a Decade of Brussels-Tokyo Connections\uff5cANA GROUP STORIES"},"content":{"rendered":"

2026 \/ 03 \/ 13<\/p>\n

Routes\u30fbAircraft<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Celebrating 10 years of service between Brussels and Tokyo<\/p>\n

This latest installment of \u201cA New Chapter of Flight\u201d takes us to Belgium, where ANA recently celebrated a decade of connecting Brussels and Tokyo. <\/p>\n

On Oct. 25, 2015, ANA launched its inaugural flight between Brussels Airport (BRU) and Tokyo\u2019s Narita International Airport (NRT). Beginning March 2, 2026, ANA increased service to three weekly flights linking Belgium and Japan. <\/p>\n

We spoke with Marie-No\u00eblle Verheyen, administration manager at ANA BRU, who shared her insights into ANA\u2019s history in Brussels. <\/p>\n

Launching a new route<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Marie-No\u00eblle Verheyen, Administration Manager at ANA BRU<\/p>\n

Verheyen\u2019s journey with ANA began 30 years ago when she joined the ANA BRU team in 1996.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I joined ANA, I was very excited because I knew a little about Japan,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the time, we were completely unknown in Belgium.\u201d<\/p>\n

For nearly two decades, Verheyen and her colleagues worked diligently to build ANA’s presence in Brussels as an offline station \u2014 operating without a direct flight route \u2014 before that work finally paid off with the launch of service between Brussels and Tokyo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the route was finally announced, it was a relief for me and the beginning of an adventure full of emotions,\u201d she added. \u201cI can still vividly picture the aircraft arriving on the tarmac on Oct. 25, 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meet the ANA Brussels team<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

The ANA BRU Team<\/p>\n

The ANA BRU team is a small but cohesive group of 12 local employees, built on strong communication and mutual respect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe phrase that best describes our office is \u2018Unity is strength,\u2019 which also happens to be Belgium\u2019s motto in Dutch: Eendracht maakt macht,\u201d said Verheyen. \u201cWe foster a culture of mutual support, readily assisting colleagues across different departments.\u201d<\/p>\n

While technical skills are important, Verheyen also emphasizes the value of hiring candidates with a diverse mindset and strong cultural fit. <\/p>\n

The 2016 Brussels terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic left a lasting mark on the team, but navigating those challenges together helped strengthen their bonds and shape the close-knit culture that defines ANA BRU today.<\/p>\n

Taking off into the future<\/p>\n

Beyond ANA\u2019s increased flight frequencies to Brussels, 2026 also marks 160 years of friendship and diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan \u2014 making this a milestone year on multiple fronts.<\/p>\n

With a shared appreciation for rich and diverse cultures, the ANA BRU team looks forward to welcoming more travelers eager to experience everything both countries have to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelgians offer a warm welcome, along with the country\u2019s rich heritage through cities like Brussels and Bruges,\u201d said Verheyen. \u201cBelgian gastronomy is of course another highlight, famous for its chocolate, waffles and hundreds of different beers.\u201d<\/p>\n

With more weekly flights now connecting Brussels and Tokyo, the team remains committed to delivering the safe, seamless travel experience ANA is known for \u2014 one flight at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026 \/ 03 \/ 13 Routes\u30fbAircraft Celebrating 10 years of service between Brussels and Tokyo This latest installment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[4350,4348,4349,18,276,144,4353,4352,4351,4356,4355,4354],"class_list":["post-6084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brussels","tag-airjapan","tag-ana","tag-brussels","tag-information","tag-news","tag-topics","tag-4352","tag-4351","tag-4356","tag-4355","tag-4354"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116222405165761025","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}