This paper aims at assessing the direct and total (direct, indirect and induced) impact of the Belgian air industry (BAI). The empirical analysis shows that in 2003 the ten largest Belgian airlines had about 4.300 employees. The "indirect" and "induced" effects of these airlines activities generate about 4.700 additional employees. The estimated (and lower bound) multiplier effects are of 2,1 for the number of employees, 2,2 for added value and 1,6 for government revenue. These multipliers reflect the crucial role played by the BAI for the Belgian economy. They should be observed in the light of the deep crisis that the industry had to face in 2001, induced by a world-wide economic crisis and worsened by the September 11th event and the SARS epidemic risk. This crisis ultimately led to the loss of 1.457 Sabena's employees. If the Belgian government and the BAI work together to seize several potential opportunities, the total number of employees induced by the BAI could jump up to 20.000 by the year 2008. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/published