skeyes

TLDR

skeyes is the Belgian autonomous public air navigation service provider headquartered in Steenokkerzeel near Zaventem, responsible for civil air traffic control across Belgian airspace and developer of digital remote-tower and drone-management technology.

Overview

skeyes is an autonomous public company under Belgian law, established in 1998 as Belgocontrol when Belgium's earlier "Régie des voies aériennes / Regie der Luchtwegen" (founded 1946) was restructured into an autonomous government corporation. The company rebranded to skeyes in November 2018, on its twentieth anniversary. Its headquarters and main control centre sit at Tervuursesteenweg 303 in Steenokkerzeel, on the perimeter of Brussels Airport, in operation since 2005. As of 31 December 2024 the organisation employed 982 people and hired 97 new staff during that year.

skeyes provides air traffic management, communication, navigation, surveillance, aeronautical information, and meteorological services for the civil airspace under Belgian sovereignty up to flight level 245, and at five other Belgian airports together with two radar stations. It is a member of CANSO and participates in the Functional Airspace Block Europe Central (FABEC) alongside Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and Switzerland. In 2024 it handled 946,768 flights, a 4% increase over 2023, with 99.4% on-time performance, zero category A safety incidents, and 34.8 million passengers across Belgian public airports. Operating revenue reached EUR 335.2 million with EUR 36.4 million in investments. The Board of Directors is chaired by Laurent Vrijdaghs and includes ten members plus a Government Commissioner, with three committees overseeing audit, strategy, and remuneration.

CEO Johan Decuyper joined Belgocontrol in 2013 and led the financial turnaround, the 2018 rebrand, and the technology programme. Together with EUROCONTROL's Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre and the Belgian Ministry of Defence, skeyes is co-developing the Shared Air Traffic Services System 3 (SAS3), planned to become the single platform for civil and military air traffic control over Belgium by 2027. With Saab the company is rolling out a nationwide digital remote-towers programme. A remote-tower development centre was commissioned at Steenokkerzeel in March 2024, and a new control centre in Namur is scheduled to guide the regional airports of Liège and Charleroi from late 2026 using 360-degree panoramic imaging with augmented-reality overlays. The DiTo (Digital Tower) project with EUROCONTROL has piloted remote control of regional airports. skeyes was certified as Common Information Service Provider (CISP) for drone services in 2025, processed 16,381 professional drone flight authorisations in 2024, and is exploring AI for drone detection and air traffic optimisation. In 2025 the organisation signed a partnership with VIVES University of Applied Sciences to launch the first academic training programme for air traffic controllers in Belgium.

Key People

• Johan Decuyper - CEO and member of the Board of Directors
• Laurent Vrijdaghs - Chair of the Board of Directors

Notes

Long-running joint development partnerships with EUROCONTROL, the Belgian Ministry of Defence (for SAS3), and Saab (for digital remote towers) make skeyes a structurally important customer for European aviation tech vendors. Its role as a Belgian autonomous public company means procurement runs through formal channels rather than commercial pilots.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeyes
• https://www.skeyes.be/en/about-us/
• https://annualreport.skeyes.be/en
• https://www.eurocontrol.int/article/remote-towers-skeyes-dito-project
• https://www.eurocontrol.int/press-release/civil-military-atc-use-same-system-manage-belgian-airspace
• https://press.skeyes.be/20-years-of-belgocontrol
• https://press.skeyes.be/skeyes-certified-as-common-information-service-provider-cisp
• https://www.aviation24.be/air-traffic-control/skeyes/vives-university-of-applied-sciences-and-skeyes-launch-first-academic-training-programme-for-air-traffic-controllers-in-belgium/
• https://digitalmag.theceomagazine.com/johan-decuyper/