De Lijn bus R26orSTIB bus 12, the Airport Line?

R26 · De LijnDe Lijn bus R26

From

The Zaventem Brussels Airport bus station — since 7 May 2026 a temporary one, about 100 m from the terminal on level 0, under a covered walkway

To

Brussel-Noord / Bruxelles-Nord, a main-line station and tram hub

Luggage

An ordinary city bus. There are no racks, so a big case sits with you.

Runs

05:26–22:56

Journey

43–60 min

It is the cheapest way into Brussels by a wide margin and the slowest by an equally wide one: 43 to 60 minutes against the train's 16 to 23.

It leaves you at Brussel-Noord, one of the three main stations, on the northern edge of the center. For Grand-Place or the lower town add a metro or tram hop, or ride the train two stops on.

Check the ticket clock. De Lijn tickets run 60 minutes, and this journey can take 60. A ticket bought on a card lets you finish the ride you are on; De Lijn's own table lists the app and website version as 60 minutes without that wording.

Traveling together, buy one 10-rittenkaart at EUR 22 rather than singles once there are eight of you, and scan it once per person.

It stops at 22:56, earlier than everything else at this airport.

De Lijn bus R26: price for every party size

12 · STIB-MIVBSTIB bus 12, the Airport Line

From

Platform D of the bus station — since 7 May 2026 a temporary one, about 100 m from the terminal on level 0, under a covered walkway

To

Schuman (metro 1 and 5), then Luxembourg and Trone (metro 2 and 6)

Luggage

A city bus with a luggage area, since the route exists for this traffic.

Runs

05:08–00:30

Journey

27–52 min

You are paying EUR 7.90 for a journey that costs EUR 2.40 in the other direction. That is not a mistake on the fare machine — every ordinary STIB ticket is written to be void leaving this airport.

It is the best option for the European quarter: Schuman in about 27 minutes puts you where neither the cheap bus nor the train leaves you.

Paper costs EUR 0.50 more than contactless or a card.

Seven of you should still buy singles. The 10-journey card only wins from eight once the EUR 6.00 MOBIB card is counted, and from seven if you already have one.

Peak traffic nearly doubles it — 52 minutes to Trone against 38 off-peak.

STIB bus 12, the Airport Line: price for every party size