Waiting for your flight at Charleroi Airport: services and tips

What is there before and after security?

The airport lists its shops on its services page, read on 07/11/2026. Before security, in terminal 1: Relay (newsagent), Louis Delhaize and La Belgique Gourmande. After security: International Duty Free and Relay in terminal 1, International Duty Free in terminal 2. A Travel Extra magazine guide from September 2025 said the duty-free shops were run by Heinemann; here we follow the airport's page.

For food, the airport describes a fairly varied choice of bars and restaurants, without listing them. Travel Extra described a food court upstairs in terminal 1, with Pizza Hut and Burger King, and only two cafes in terminal 2, where a coffee cost about €5. The magazine suggested eating before security at peak times, when tables run short.

Drinks bought in the departure lounge can go in the cabin whatever their volume, the airport says. So buy your water for the flight after security.

Is the wifi free, and where can you charge your phone?

The wifi is free. The Charleroi Airport Wifi network covers terminals 1 and 2, according to the airport. Travel Extra wrote in 2025 that it runs through the CRL Airport app and slows down at busy times. This free airport app also shows flight tracking and last-minute changes.

We found no reliable source on the number or location of power sockets in the gate areas, so we say nothing about them. Charge your phone before you leave, above all if your boarding pass is in the airline's app. If you carry a power bank, check the airlines' rules, summed up in our guide on liquids and items at security.

The Charleroi lounge: price, hours and who can use it

The airport has two lounges, open to all passengers whatever the airline. The two official pages read on 07/11/2026 do not quite agree:

The difference in hours matters: in our records of flights from 30 October to 9 November 2026, 57 departures were scheduled between 9pm and 9.59pm, and 5 at 10pm. If you leave in the evening, check the lounge hours when booking. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure.

The lounges are in the Schengen area. For a non-Schengen flight, e-Parking reminds you to allow time for border control after leaving them.

Is Fast Track worth it to save time?

Fast Track is a priority lane at security, sold by the airport on its e-Parking platform. You get a QR code by email to scan at the reader before security; it becomes active 15 minutes after purchase, and children under 5 go through free. The page read on 07/11/2026 shows no price before the booking step.

It does not get you on the plane any sooner. The airport asks you to be at the gate about 45 minutes before departure, and check-in desks open at least 2 hours before. At Ryanair they close 60 minutes before departure for flights from 10 November 2026, instead of 40, according to its terms of carriage. Fast Track only shortens the security queue, so the time saved is spent sitting on the other side.

To work out when to leave home, see our guide on how early to get to the airport.

Your flight is delayed: where to follow the departure time?

The time printed on your boarding pass does not change when the flight is delayed. The estimated time does, on the terminal screens and on the airport flights page.

Follow the estimated time on our departures page rather than the time on your ticket. If the wait drags on, the airline owes you meals and drinks beyond a certain delay, depending on the flight distance: the thresholds are in our guide on your rights when a flight is delayed.

Dawn or evening flight: when does the airport's day start and end?

In our records of flights from 30 October to 9 November 2026, the first departure each day was scheduled at 6.20am, and the last between 9.35pm and 10pm. The 6am hour was the busiest of the day, with 85 departures over the period. The lounges open at 5am according to both airport pages.

The airport pages read on 07/11/2026 do not publish terminal opening hours. So we cannot say whether you can spend the night there: do not count on it without asking the airport.

For a long wait before check-in, left-luggage lockers valid for 24 hours are outside the terminal, according to the airport. Travel Extra placed them near terminal 1, at €6 to €10 in 2025. There is a cash machine in terminal 1, and the information desk in the middle of terminal 1 answers questions about flights.

If you are driving in for a dawn flight, check your car park's shuttle hours: our guide on the night shuttle covers them.