More than 2.1 million passengers at Brussels Airport in September - 47,000 tons of cargo shipped

More than 2.1 million passengers passed through Brussels Airport in September.  An increase of 7% compared to the same month in 2022. The airport recorded a 20% growth across the first three quarters of this year compared to 2022, with 17 million passengers to date. Cargo volume decreased by 12% compared to September last year.

Passengers: +7% compared to September 2022

Brussels Airport welcomed 2,141,754 passengers in September, an increase of 7% compared to September 2022. There was a 20% growth for the period from January to September, across the first three quarters of this year, compared to 2022, with 17 million passengers travelling through the airport to date.

The share of transfer passengers at departure in September was 15%. This correlates to the role Brussels Airport has as a transfer hub for, amongst others, the Star Alliance airlines.

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

New routes announced in September: Brussels Airport to expand network in 2024

Several airlines announced new routes from Brussels Airport in September, which will further expand and consolidate the Brussels Airport network by 2024. Flag carrier Brussels Airlines, for example, is set to add a tenth Airbus A330 to its long-haul fleet as of June. This will allow the resumption of their Nairobi, Kenya route, with six direct flights a week.

Singapore Airlines will resume passenger flights at Brussels Airport after an absence of more than 20 years. They will connect Brussels Airport to this major Asian destination with four direct flights a week from April.

Dutch airline Transavia will base a third aircraft at Brussels Airport next summer and offer three new destinations. They will consequently add Bari (Italy), Marrakesh (Morocco) and Thessaloniki (Greece) to their route network.

Cargo traffic: down by 12%

Flown cargo volumes at Brussels Airport decreased by 12% in September to 46,827 tons. Global cargo volumes decreased by 14% compared to September 2022, to a total of 56,601 tons.

The full-cargo segment experienced a 24% decline. There is a continuing worldwide decline in this segment, however Brussels Airport outperformed the global average for this period (-34%).

Belly cargo volumes, on the other hand, increased by 7%, thanks to the increase in passenger flights. There was a 9% drop in integrator services and a 25% decline in trucked volumes.

The primary import regions were Asia, Africa and North America. Asia also ranked first in terms of exports, followed by North America and Africa.

Flight movements: stable compared to September 2022 (+0.5%)

The number of flight movements in September 2023 was almost identical to 2022, with a limited increase of 0.5%. The number of passenger flights increased by 4% compared to 2022. There was an average of 146 passengers per flight, four more than in September last year, driven by the use of larger aircraft and higher seat occupancy rates per flight. The number of cargo flights decreased by 8% compared to September 2022.