LIVERY OF THE WEEK: Brussels Airlines special

Brussels Airlines has released the latest in its series of iconic Belgian liveries. In a search for its fifth Belgian icon, the carrier turned to its customers to ask them which Belgian idea or person they wish to see soaring through the skies on an Airbus A320. The Smurfs design by the Italian Marta Mascellani was chosen by the public. The designers of studio Peyo adapted Marta’s design to fit around the fuselage of the aircraft. The result is a plane with nineteen smurfs, passengers as well as crew, interacting with each other. Led by airbrush specialist André Eisele, fourteen artists worked to paint the design on the plane by hand. They used 28 colours, 420 litres of paint, 24.000 meters of masking tape and 4.500m² of masking paper. "Aerosmurf" will be part of the Brussels Airlines fleet until 2023.