**Brussels Airlines to Operate a Special Solar Eclipse Flight on August 12, 2026** Brussels Airlines, in collaboration with the Urania public observatory and the universities of Antwerp and Brussels (VUB), will operate a special flight on August 12, 2026, to observe a partial solar eclipse from the sky. The flight, an Airbus A320 departing from Brussels, will take passengers above the clouds for an unobstructed view of a very deep partial eclipse. **A Rare Eclipse-Chasing Flight from Brussels** Amateur astronomers and aviation enthusiasts will have the rare opportunity to observe the solar eclipse of August 12, 2026, from a specially chartered Brussels Airlines Airbus A320. Organized by Volkssterrenwacht Urania, in partnership with the University of Antwerp and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the flight will depart from Brussels Airport in the early evening to fly over western France, near Nantes. According to Urania, the eclipse will be visible in Belgium as a very deep partial eclipse, with about 89 to 91% of the solar disk obscured by the Moon at maximum, shortly after 8 PM local time. The path of totality will pass further south, notably over northern Spain, Iceland, and Greenland, as recalled by ESA and NASA; Europe outside this corridor will see only a partial eclipse. **Above the Clouds: A Decisive Advantage** The flight is designed to optimize viewing conditions, as the Sun will be very low on the horizon at the time of the eclipse, making ground visibility highly dependent on weather. At an altitude of about 11 km (36,000 feet), passengers will benefit from a clear horizon and reduced risk of cloud cover, significantly increasing the likelihood of seeing the phenomenon under good conditions. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 with 180 seats in typical Brussels Airlines configuration, will only offer about 100 seats for sale, with aisle seats intentionally left empty to facilitate outside views. All participants will receive certified eclipse glasses and will be accompanied in flight by experienced guides from Urania to ensure safety and quality of observations. **Schedule and Pricing** The program will begin with check-in at Brussels Airport around 5:20 PM, followed by a takeoff around 7:20 PM, to position the aircraft in the optimal visibility zone during the deepest phase of the eclipse. The maximum is expected around 8:21 PM on board, consistent with ephemeris calculations. The aircraft will then return to Brussels for a scheduled landing around 9:20 PM, after about two hours of flight over western France. The package is priced at €299 per person and includes the preparation evening, a planetarium presentation, the round-trip flight of about two hours to the Nantes region, protective glasses, and onboard guidance. Given the limited number of seats and the unique nature of the flight, organizers expect high demand from the Belgian public as well as foreign enthusiasts willing to travel to Brussels. The eclipse of August 12, 2026, will be the first total eclipse visible on the European continent since August 1999, with the path of totality crossing Iceland and northern Spain this time.