Brussels Airport starts 2026 strong:
​1.6 million passengers in January (+5.5%)
​​ and 61,500 tonnes of cargo (+3.5%)

Brussels Airport welcomed more than 1.6 million passengers in January 2026, an increase of 5.5% compared to the same month last year. Cargo volumes reached nearly 61,500 tonnes, up by 3.5% compared to January 2025, confirming a continued positive trend in this essential segment of the Belgian economy.

Passenger figures: +5.5% compared to January 2025

The winter weather conditions at the start of the year did little to slow down the steady growth in passenger numbers. Brussels Airport welcomed 1,601,051 passengers in January, up 5.5% compared to January 2025. The month saw a higher number of arriving passengers due to the end of the Christmas holidays. Several additional flights were also recorded as a result of diversions from Dutch airports affected by severe winter weather.

The ten most popular destinations were Spain, Italy, Morocco, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

The average number of passengers per flight increased to 135, compared to 131 in January 2025. In addition, 18% of passengers were transfer passengers, confirming Brussels Airport’s growing role as a hub connecting Europe with Africa and North America.

Cargo volumes continue to grow: +3.5%

In January, total cargo volumes at Brussels Airport reached 61,485 tonnes, up 3.5% compared to January 2025. Flown cargo also increased by 2.4%. This growth is primarily driven by an increase in cargo transported on passenger flights (+5.1%) and strong performance in the express services segment (+10%). The full‑freighter segment, however, recorded a decrease of 8.2%.

Trucked volumes also recorded solid growth, rising by 11.2%.

The main import regions remained Asia, North America and Africa, just like last year. Exports to Asia and Africa recorded significant growth.

Flight movements: very slight decrease of 0.1%

In January, Brussels Airport recorded 14,007 commercial flight movements, a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to January 2025. The number of passenger flights increased by 1.7%, while cargo flight movements decreased by 9.4%.

This evolution reflects the more efficient use of available capacity, with improved load factors and increased use of belly cargo on passenger flights for freight transport.