VLM Airlines
former Belgian regional airline based in Antwerp and based in the London City Airport
VLM Airlines, short for Vlaamse Luchttransport Maatschappij ("Flemish Air Transport Company"), was a Belgian airline offering scheduled, charter and ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) services. It was headquartered at Antwerp International Airport in Deurne. After getting to difficultiy and ownership changes, it ceased operations on 31 August 2018. It is not to be confused with the almost homonymous Belgian airline VLM Airlines Brussels, which operated leisure charters and ceased operations in December 2018.
History
Early years
VLM Airlines was established in February 1992 and started operations in May of the following year with a scheduled service between Antwerp International Airport and London City Airport. Its original hub was Antwerp; this was switched to London City, and after a management buy-out late in 2014, it was again based at Antwerp Airport.
On 24 December 2007, Air France-KLM agreed to buy the company from Panta Holdings. In 2008 the airline reported its tenth consecutive year of profits; for the year ending 31 December 2007 it had a net profit of 3.6m euros. Turnover grew to 112m euros and passenger numbers rose 9% to 745,781 during 2007. The airline at this point employed over 400 people, and carried 745,781 passengers in 2007.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “VLM Airlines” as former Belgian regional airline based in Antwerp and based in the London City Airport. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as former Belgian regional airline based in Antwerp and based in the London City Airport. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q606190. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2018, 1992, 2014 and 2007.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “VLM Airlines”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow VLM Airlines primary sources, VLM Airlines archive and Airlines research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “VLM Airlines”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “VLM Airlines” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.