Hannut (Avernas-le-Bauduin)

50°42'24"N 005°4'10"E

Runway: 05/23 - 235x40meters - Grass

Avernas Airport (French: Aérodrome de Avernas, ICAO EBAV, full official name: Hannut, Avernas-le-Bauduin) is a small ultralight airport exactly on the border between the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant in Belgium.
The airport is situated 12kilometers southeast of Goetsenhoven and 13 kilometers southwest of St.Truiden (St.Trond). The airport is owned and operated by the Hesbaye Aeroclub (french: Aeroclub d'Hesbaye, dutch: Haspengouwse vliegclub). Avernas lies directly beneath an active danger area (EBD37). This means the airports use is subject to very strict rules concerning approach and departure. Also the use of the airport is restricted to pilots that have been briefed and checked out on the local situation and to aircraft that are known at nearby Air Base Beauvechain (dutch: Bevekom).

The Hesbaye Aeroclub began in 1983 after its 3 founder members managed to rent a small field in nearby Les Waleffes. By doing so they founded one of the first Ultralight airfields in Belgium. The first flight ocurred in July 1983. At the end of 1984 however the lease on the land expired, forcing the club to move to Avernas. The new field at Avernas was ready to use by spring 1986. Disaster struck again however when a golf court was opened nearby and lands were reshuffled, forcing the club to move one final time to a field 700meters further. At this field (the current field) the aeroclub began to grow, both in numbers of members and in aircraft.
The full story of the aeroclub can be read here (in french and in dutch).


Avernas airport, the red line is the border between the two provinces of Brabant.


Between 2012 and 2015 (when this photo was taken) the runway was moved to the Walloon side of the province border. The old runway was marked with white Xs, to ensure there would be no landings there. (Google Earth).