Over 1.6 million passengers passed through Brussels Airport in November

57,000 tons of air cargo carried 

During the month of November, Brussels Airport welcomed 1.6 million passengers, an increase of 10% compared to the same month in 2022. For the first time since the COVID pandemic, the 20-million passenger mark was passed again.Meanwhile, air cargo volumes were down by 8% compared with November last year. 

Passengers: +10% compared to November 2022 

In November, Brussels Airport welcomed 1,613,845 passengers, an increase of 10% compared to the same month in 2022. With the Belgian autumn holidays ending at the beginning of the month, there were more arriving than departing passengers. As in October, the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv had a negative impact on passenger numbers.  

In November, 15% of the departing passengers were transfer passengers, a slight decrease due to the general drop in transfer passengers within Europe.  

The top ten countries visited in November were Spain, Germany, Italy, Turkey, the UK, France, the USA, Switzerland, Morocco and Portugal.  

It should be noted that at the end of November, Brussels Airport for the first time since 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic, exceeded the 20 million passenger mark. 

Air cargo volumes: down 8% compared with November 2022 

In November, overall cargo volumes at Brussels Airport fell by 11% compared to November 2022, reaching 57,280 tonnes.  

Flown cargo volumes were down by 8%, totalling 47,727 tonnes.  

The full freighter segment fell back slightly by 1%, while belly cargo on passenger aircraft rose by 9%, thanks to the increase in the number of passenger flights. Express services fell by 22% and trucked cargo volumes by 21%.  

The main import regions are Asia (which recorded a sizeable increase of 47% compared to November 2022), Africa and North America. The main export region is also Asia, followed by North America and Africa. 

Flight movements: 6% increase compared to November 2022 

In November 2023, the number of flight movements increased by 6% to 14,783. The number of passenger flights increased by 10% compared to 2022. As in November 2022, there was an average of 135 passengers per flight. The number of cargo flights dropped by 10% compared to November 2022.