Continued strong growth of cargo in March: +15%
In March, Brussels Airport welcomed nearly 1.9 million passengers, a new record for the month of March in the history of the airport. In comparison with the previous record, set in March 2015, there is a rise of no less than 9.8%. Cargo too noted strong growth figures at the airport for the month of March. Last month, more than 50,000 tons of cargo was shipped, a rise of 15.3% in comparison with the figures in 2015.
Brussels Airport has had the best ever first quarter in its history. In comparison with the previous record, in 2015, the airport has received 10.6% more passengers. Cargo traffic increased in the past quarter by 13.3% in comparison with the same period in 2015.
In March 2016, the airport was closed from 22 March after the attack. A comparison between the passenger figures for 2016 and 2017 would give a distorted picture. This explains the comparison with the figures of 2015, when Brussels Airport enjoyed a record year.
Passengers
In March 2017, 1,879,510 passengers passed through Brussels Airport, 9.8% more than in March 2015. This strong rise, reflecting the rises in the 4 previous months, shows that the confidence passengers have in Brussels Airport is again at a high level.
The number of local boarding passengers (+11.2%) grew faster in March 2017 than the number of transfer passengers (+7.7%) compared with March 2015. That is because Jet Airways were still operating at Brussels Airport in 2015 and were responsible for part of those transfer passengers.
The largest growth was enjoyed by both Brussels Airlines and Ryanair. There is also growth in both European short-haul traffic and long-haul traffic such as ANA to Tokyo, and this growth has been achieved despite Jet Airways no longer flying long-haul flights from the airport. Delta Airlines has also started flights to Atlanta.
Freight Transport
The freight volume at Brussels Airport increased considerably by 15.3% compared to March 2015. The cargo traffic at Brussels Airport has been in the lift for several months in a row and this growth trend has continued in March.
The dedicated cargo segment (+27.2%) and express services (+19.8%) show healthy growth, while cargo on board passenger flights (-2.9%) dropped slightly, largely because of the departure of Jet Airways.
Flight movements
The number of flight movements in March 2017 rose by 2.8% compared to March 2015. A very limited growth in comparison with the passenger growth of 9.8%. The occupancy rate on the flights rose sharply from on average 105 passengers per flight to 113 passengers per flight.
