Brussels Airport is ready for a busy summer with 4 million passengers in July and August

Brussels Airport expects to welcome as many as 4 million passengers at the airport over the summer holidays. Friday 1 July will be the busiest day of the departure weekend, with some 72,000 passengers in total, including 39,000 departing passengers. Together with all of the partners of the airport community, Brussels Airport has made thorough preparations to ensure the busy summer holiday season runs smoothly. Meanwhile, the number of vacancies at the airport has fallen to 590 open positions, approaching the average before the Covid crisis. In order to inform passengers even better, BRUce, the digital chatbot on the Brussels Airport website, has been completely updated and now also provides live information on waiting times at security screening.

Friday, 1 July marks the start of the summer holidays and will also be the first day since the start of the Covid crisis that the total daily passenger number at Brussels Airport will exceed 70,000 passengers. Some 39,000 outbound passengers are expected that day, in addition to 33,000 inbound passengers. As many as 4 million passengers are expected over the two summer holiday months. That represents 74% of the number of passengers in the summer of 2019 (5.4 million passengers). After two summers marked by numerous travel restrictions, many people are clearly in need of a well-deserved holiday!

Together with all of our partners at the airport, Brussels Airport has made preparations for the rising passenger numbers this summer holiday season. Aviato, the airport's employment centre, has organised recruitment campaigns and Jobcafés together with other airport companies, leading to a drop in the number of open vacancies to 590. Hundreds of positions have been filled over the past two months but new job openings have also been added. The number of vacancies is again heading towards the average from before the Covid crisis (500 vacancies on average).

A wide range of holiday destinations

This summer holiday, holidaymakers can choose from 185 direct destinations offered by 60 airlines at Brussels Airport. The most popular summer destinations are Spain, the Canary Islands, Portugal, Italy and Greece. Following the end of Covid travel restrictions, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and the Cape Verde Islands are also in high demand again.

When it comes to intercontinental flights, both the United States and Canada are popular, especially now that testing requirements have been eliminated, as well as the Caribbean and Mexico. In Asia, Thailand is the most popular destination, but it is also possible to travel on to other Asian destinations via the Gulf states.

BRUce as a guide through the airport

To provide the best possible support to passengers looking for practical information about their journey through the airport, Brussels Airport is investing heavily in digital tools. Last year, an online tool was developed so passengers can find out the best time to get to the airport for their specific flight based on check-in opening times and how busy the airport is at that time. In addition, the BRUce chatbot on the Brussels Airport website has now been completely updated and also equipped with additional information.

The chatbot, which can be found at the bottom right of homepage, can supply passengers with all the information and updates about their flight by simply entering their flight number. The passenger then receives messages via Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger with, among other things, the check-in opening times and, since recently, the actual waiting times at the security screening. And when preparing to come to the airport, passengers can also ask BRUce all their questions or use the handy overview on the website to find out what they need for each step of the way.

Holidays start at Brussels Airport

The lively holiday vibes are back at the airport and the summer decorations contribute to this! In front of the departure hall you'll find the globe of the Tomorrowland festival which is expecting many international festivalgoers to travel through Brussels Airport this summer, and there's also a summer terrace. Inside the airport, Hall 2 and Pier A have a chill zone with beach chairs and palm trees to put passengers in the holiday mood, and there are several original summer selfie decors throughout the airport for a fun photo before departure. Anyone sharing a photo with one of these summer decorations on social media with the hashtag #brusselsairport will also have a chance of winning a travel voucher.