Challenge Airlines (BE)

If you stand at the fence in Liège, you see freighters from all over the world. Some of them carry a Belgian registration, four engines and “Challenge” titles: those are the jumbos of Challenge Airlines (BE). The airline is young, but its group has a long history – and with the Boeing 747-400 it flies a freighter classic that can no longer be taken for granted in Europe. Here you’ll learn how to tell the Belgian Challenge from its sisters and how to recognize the different 747 variants.

Challenge Airlines (BE) at a glance

Challenge Airlines (BE) is a Belgian cargo-only airline and part of the Challenge Group. It does not carry passengers. Its role within the group is clearly defined: it is the ACMI provider. That means it supplies aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance, while other companies in the group sell the cargo space, handle the shipments and organize the logistics.

The airline’s home is Liège Airport in Wallonia. Liège has developed into one of Europe’s major cargo airports and is a destination for spotters where freighters are the rule, not the exception. The Challenge Group has been rooted there for decades.

The Belgian company came into being in 2016 under the name ACE Aviation, or ACE Air Cargo Europe. In April 2017, ground operations were transferred to ACE Belgium Freighters S.A. In 2019, the airline received its Belgian air operator certificate (AOC) and began flight operations in May 2019 – with a 747-400F that moved over from the Israeli parent company. On June 16, 2020, it was renamed Challenge Airlines (BE) S.A.

Codes and callsign

• ICAO code CHG: this is how the airline shows up in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers.
• Callsign CHALLENGE: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio.
• IATA code: common code directories list none for the Belgian company. Its Israeli sister Challenge Airlines IL, by contrast, has the IATA code 5C and the ICAO code ICL.

For you as a spotter, the ICAO code is the most important anchor. Because the group runs several airlines with a similar look, only CHG on the tracker confirms that the Belgian company is the one flying. How to follow individual aircraft is explained in the guide Tracking aircraft by registration.

One group, three airlines

The Challenge Group has its roots in Israel. In 1976, the cargo airline CAL was founded in Tel Aviv; it began charter operations in November 1976 and at first leased aircraft from El Al. From December 1999, CAL flew scheduled service with its own Boeing 747-200Fs. In 2010 the airline passed into private hands, and in 2016 it took the name Challenge.

Liège played a role early on: in 1997, CAL took over the LACHS cargo terminal (Liège Airport Cargo Handling Services) there. Further building blocks followed later – the sales company Challenge Air Cargo in 2018, its own maintenance operation in 2021, plus leasing through Challenge Aviation, based in Malta.

Airline	Country	Codes	Registration	Fleet (as of 2026)
Challenge Airlines (BE)	Belgium	ICAO CHG	OO-	Boeing 747-400F
Challenge Airlines IL	Israel	IATA 5C, ICAO ICL	4X-	747-400F/ERF and 767-300 freighters
Challenge Airlines MT	Malta	–	9H-	767-300 converted freighters and one 777-300ER converted freighter

The Maltese airline received its AOC in 2022 and took over its first Boeing 767-300F in 2023. For the Belgian company, by contrast, the 747 remains the measure of all things. According to the Challenge Group, a fifth 747-400F joined the group in 2024.

The fleet: Boeing 747-400 as a freighter

The Challenge Group lists four Boeing 747-400Fs for its Belgian airline. Behind that is not a uniform series but a fleet that has grown over time: over the years, several jumbos moved from Challenge Airlines IL to Belgium, including factory freighters, a 747-400ERF with a higher takeoff weight and longer range, and a converted former passenger jet (747-400BCF). For spotters, that is exactly the appeal: the same basic type, but visible differences.

Variant	Origin	How to recognize it
747-400F	Factory freighter from Boeing	Short upper deck, no windows, upward-hinged nose door
747-400ERF	Factory freighter with higher weight	Outwardly like the 400F – the difference is only in the technical data
747-400BCF	Conversion from a passenger jet	Long upper deck, windows closed off, no nose door, large side door at the rear

If you want to reliably tell the 747 generations apart, the overview Recognizing the Boeing 747-100 to 747-8 helps. And for the basics on freighters, Recognizing cargo aircraft is the right starting point. All these jumbos were built by Boeing.

Factory freighter or conversion? How to tell them apart

At first glance, all Challenge jumbos look the same: four engines, a hump, no row of windows on the main deck. Two details still reveal where an aircraft comes from.

The most reliable clue is the length of the upper deck. Factory freighters have the short hump so that the nose door can swing upward. On converted freighters, the long hump of the passenger jet is retained. You can see the difference best from the side, for example on approach or while taxiing. The winglets, by contrast, mainly help you set it apart from the Boeing 747-200, which the group used to fly.

How to recognize Challenge Airlines (BE)

The group’s aircraft generally carry a white fuselage with the “Challenge” titles. Because IL, BE and MT present themselves uniformly, the paint scheme is not a reliable distinguishing feature. The registration, however, is: Belgian aircraft carry the prefix OO-. How registrations are structured in general and why every country has its own prefix, you can read in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations.

Keep in mind, too: Challenge Airlines (BE) is an ACMI provider. In the cargo business, it is common for aircraft to fly for other customers or to be rescheduled at short notice. A jumbo with an OO registration can therefore also turn up where the group has no fixed route.

Spotting Challenge Airlines (BE) at Liège

Liège Airport (IATA LGG, ICAO EBLG) has two runways: the main runway 04R/22L, about 3.7 kilometers long, and the shorter 04L/22R. As at many cargo airports, a lot of the activity there traditionally takes place in the evening and night hours. For photos in daylight, it’s worth watching the tracker to time the takeoffs and landings of the Challenge jumbos.

According to an overview of cargo connections at Liège, Challenge most recently flew from there to places including Tel Aviv, New York-JFK, Atlanta, Toronto, Mexico City, Oslo and Larnaca. In the cargo business, destinations change quickly, though – take the list as orientation, not as a timetable. Which photo locations are available around the airport is shown by the spot guide Liège Airport spotting spot.

Liège combines well with a visit to Brussels. At Brussels Airport, passenger traffic dominates, and the guide Plane spotting in Brussels shows you the best places. In the Belgian cargo market, you also regularly meet ASL Airlines Belgium at Liège.

Common mix-ups

• Taking every Challenge 747 for the Belgian airline – Challenge Airlines IL also flies 747-400Fs. The registration decides: OO- or 4X-.
• Filing a 777 with Challenge titles under Belgium – the 777 converted freighter belongs to the Maltese sister.
• Confusing the 747-400F and 747-8F – the 747-8F is clearly longer and has no upturned winglets but raked wingtips swept back.
• Treating factory and converted freighters as the same – a short upper deck with a nose door means factory freighter, a long upper deck without a nose door means conversion.
• Noting an IATA code for the Belgian airline – 5C belongs to the Israeli sister; you identify the Belgian airline by ICAO CHG.
• Confusing Challenge with Cargolux – both fly jumbo freighters, but Cargolux with a Luxembourg LX- registration.

Conclusion

Challenge Airlines (BE) is the European arm of a cargo group with Israeli roots. The young airline flies only Boeing 747-400 freighters, is at home at Liège cargo airport and works as an ACMI provider for its own group. If you note down the registration and ICAO code and pay attention to the upper deck and nose door, you’ll assign every Challenge jumbo correctly – and document, along the way, a freighter classic that is becoming rarer in Europe.