Cargo records strong growth
In August, Brussels Airport welcomed over 2.3 million passengers. Over the whole summer, more than 4.7 million people travelled via Brussels Airport, 3.9% down on record year 2015. Cargo recorded positive growth for the first time since the attacks. The cargo volume handled at Brussels Airport grew by 6.6% mainly due the strong performance of the full-freighter segment.
Passengers
In August, Brussels Airport welcomed 2,313,354 passengers, a decrease by 4.6 % compared to the same month in top year 2015. Over the whole summer, more than 4,712,869 million people travelled via Brussels Airport, down 3.9% on last year.
The number of originating departing passengers is 6.7% lower than in August last year. On the one hand, was the decline in the number of holiday bookings to Turkey by the Belgians and the departure of Jet Airways. On the other, fewer tourists are visiting our country since the attacks. The American and Asian tourists especially are avoiding Europe and in particular Belgium. Intensive and targeted promotional campaigns abroad for our country are required in the months ahead in order to revive tourist traffic and conference visits.
The number of transfer passengers has risen by 8.4% compared to August last year. This shows that international passengers have confidence in the smooth operations at Brussels Airport.
Various airlines have recorded significant growth figures at Brussels Airport, in particular Brussels Airlines and the low-cost carriers. Since March, Brussels Airlines has been operating an intercontinental route to Toronto and next year will be adding Mumbai to the Star Alliance network operated from Brussels Airport. This will largely compensate for the departure of Jet Airways.
Cargo
Cargo recorded positive growth for the first time since the attacks. Cargo traffic in August grew by a strong 6.6% compared to August last year. The full-freighter segment in particular did exceptionally well, with a growth of 26.2% thanks to the further development of Ethiopian Airlines Cargo.
The express services increased by 3.8% compared to August 2015 thanks to the worldwide growth of e-commerce. Belly cargo (cargo shipped in passenger aircraft) shows a decline of 8.9% compared to the same month last year, mainly due to the departure of Jet Airways.
Flight movements
The number of flight movements is about the same as last year. The number of passenger flights slightly decreased by 0.3% on August 2015. The average number of passengers per plane amounted to 123 passengers in August compared to 128 in the corresponding month of last year.
Brussels Airport, 13 September 2016
