Nearly 1.9 million passengers at Brussels Airport in April, an increase of 18% compared to 2022 - Flown cargo volumes up with 1%

In April, Brussels Airport welcomed nearly 1.9 million passengers, which is 18% more than in April 2022. The Easter holidays in Dutch-speaking schools in Belgium and the start of the May holiday in the Netherlands at the end of April resulted in quite a few holidaymakers this month. And this, despite the fact the French-speaking schools in Belgium for the first time had their spring holiday in May. The flown cargo volumes saw a slight increase of 1% in comparison with 2022.

Passengers: +18% compared to April 2022

In April, 1,852,523 passengers passed through Brussels Airport, an increase of 18% in comparison with April 2022. In the first half of the month, the Easter holiday in Dutch-speaking schools resulted in quite a few holidaymakers, and at the end of April, the May holiday began in the Netherlands. Since the spring holiday in French-speaking schools for the first time falls in May, holidaymakers are now more spread across the spring season in our country.

The share of departing transfer passengers was 15%, which is 40% more than in 2022. This confirms the recovery of intercontinental traffic and the position of Brussels Airport as an important hub.

The ten most popular countries in April were Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, the United States, Turkey, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Morocco.

Flown cargo volumes: increase of 1%

In April we see a slight increase of 1% in flown cargo volumes at Brussels Airport. The total cargo volumes decreased by 7% compared to April 2022, to a total of 60,972 tonnes. This decline is primarily due to a drop of 36% in trucked cargo.

The full freighter segment continues to grow, with 8% this month, while belly cargo on board of passenger aircraft decreased by 6%. There is a decline of 3% in the segment of express services.

The main import regions are Asia (+20% compared to April 2022), Africa (-14% compared to April 2022) and North America (+1% compared to 2022). In the area of export, Asia once again shows the strongest growth (+27%) and North America remains stable (+0.2%), while the volumes for Africa (-1% compared to April 2022) have declined slightly.  

Flight movements: +8% compared to April 2022

The number of flight movements in April 2023 rose by 8% compared to 2022. The number of passenger flights increased by 10% in comparison with 2022 and there was an average of 141 passengers per flight compared to 130 in April 2022. The number of cargo flights decreased by 4% compared to April 2022.