The summer holidays kick off at Brussels Airport

4.7 millions passengers expected 

The summer holidays are about to kick off. Over the next two months, Brussels Airport is to welcome over 4.7 million passengers as they jet off to the 180 destinations scheduled for this summer. It’s going to be very busy, but all partners at Brussels Airport have joined forces to prepare for the rush and provide our passengers with a pleasant airport experience. And this summer, BRUce, the virtual personal assistant, will be at passengers' side to give them updates about their flight and help them get ready to fly off to their destination. 

Starting this Friday, Brussels Airport is expecting to welcome a large number of passengers eager to go on holiday and discover new places. Nearly 80,000 passengers (departing and arriving) are expected to pass through Brussels Airport on this first day of the holiday period, followed by an equally busy weekend with 71,000 and 77,000 passengers respectively on Saturday and Sunday. With the staggered holidays for Dutch- and French-speaking schools, Brussels Airport is also set for a second busy weekend of departures on 7, 8 and 9 July, with a total of 231,000 passengers passing through its gates. In total, over the whole of the summer holidays, Brussels Airport is expecting to welcome more than 4.7 million passengers, up 15% on the 2022 figures.  

Heading for the beach, the mountains or the city streets? In Europe or on other continents? This summer, 58 airlines will be serving no fewer than 180 destinations directly from Brussels Airport. The most popular remain the classic summer destinations such as Spain and the Canary Islands, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia, the Cape Verde Islands and Egypt. New destinations for the summer season include Shenzhen, Seville, Billund, Monastir, Oran, Bejaia, Constantine, Tlemcen and Toronto (from 1 August).  

Additional automated border control gates and tips & tricks by BRUce 

To cope with this huge influx, all the partners at Brussels Airport have been working together for months to organise and optimise passenger flows. This has seen us roll out several measures. For example, the capacity at border control in Connector has been increased with three new automated border control gates bringing the total to 12 gates, in addition to the border control booths manned by the Federal Police. These ABC-gates can be used by passengers with an EU passport and British nationals travelling outside the Schengen Area.  

Additional staff have been laid on to inform and guide passengers through the terminal. Signage has also been added in certain areas, such as screening, with advice to passengers to help them prepare for the security checks and facilitate operations.  

To make for a smooth summer, it is also important that passengers are well prepared and arrive in time at the airport, that they check in online and prepare their hand luggage in accordance with the regulations in force, for liquids in particular. And for all this and more, BRUce, the virtual personal assistant for passengers, will be the ideal travel companion. Once they have entered their flight number on the Brussels Airport website, passengers will receive, via Messenger or Whatsapp, all the updates and information they need about their flight, waiting times at screening, the boarding gate number and lots of travel tips.   

And because holidays are also all about relaxing and having fun, and should start as soon as you set foot at Brussels Airport, the airport has put up summer decorations all over the terminal, complete with palm trees and deckchairs. A photo challenge is also being organised, with fantastic travel prizes up for grabs. Finally, as in previous years, Brussels Airport has teamed up with the Tomorrowland festival to offer several DJ sets on 24 and 31 July in the heart of the terminal, between the Connector and Pier A. Feel them vibes! 

It’s going to be a great summer at Brussels Airport!