1.3 million passengers at Brussels Airport in January, up 66% on 2022 - Cargo volumes down 12%

In this first month of the new year, Brussels Airport welcomed more than 1.3 million passengers, an increase of 66% compared to January 2022, and 80% of the passenger volume in January 2019. Thanks in part to the second week of Christmas holidays, the year is starting with a strong result. For cargo, there is a 12% drop in volumes compared to 2022.  

Passenger traffic: up 66% compared to 2022  

1,327,309 passengers passed through Brussels Airport in January, up 66% compared to January 2022, when there were still travel restrictions and test requirements, and 80% of the passenger number in the same month in 2019, before the Covid crisis. The Christmas holidays had a positive impact on passenger numbers in January, with more returning than departing passengers. The share of transfer passengers was 20%, almost the same as in 2019.   

The 10 most visited countries in January were Spain, Germany, Italy, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Portugal and Morocco, respectively. The United States, Turkey and Morocco even surpassed the 2019 results.   

Cargo: volume decrease of 12% compared to 2022  

In January, cargo traffic at Brussels Airport fell by 12% compared to January 2022. This drop is partly due to the Chinese New Year, which was in January this year, resulting in lower volumes, the ongoing geopolitical tensions have an impact on cargo volumes as well.  

Compared to January 2022, we see a decline in the full-freighter segment (-25%), integrator services (-6%) and trucked cargo (-17%). Belly cargo on the other hand increased by 10% given the gradual increase in passenger flights.  

Asia remains the largest import and export region. Africa is the second region in terms of imports, followed by North America. For export, North America comes second ahead of Africa.  

Flights  

The total number of flight movements increased by 24% in January 2023 compared to 2022. The number of passenger flights increased by 35% compared to 2022, with on average 127 passengers per flight, 12% more than in January 2019 (113). The number of cargo flights decreased by 9% compared to 2022.