Brussels Airport - General

Brussels Airport is expecting over 824,000 passengers during the Christmas break

When the Christmas break begins this Friday, Brussels Airport expects around 60,000 passengers, making it the busiest day of this festive period. 824,000 passengers will be travelling through the airport during the entire Christmas break. The airport is once again decked out in the magical festive spirit to welcome passengers with seasonal cheerfulness and warmth. Popular destinations include the Canary Islands, Spain, Morocco and Malta, winter sport destinations such as Innsbruck, Salzburg and Kittila, and also intercontinental destinations such as New York, Dubai and South Africa.

Between Friday 23 December and Sunday 8 January, Brussels Airport is expecting 824,000 passengers at the airport. That represents 83% of the number of passengers in the summer of 2019, before the COVID crisis (988,000). The most popular destinations during the Christmas destinations are sun destinations such as the Canary Islands, Spain, Malta, Egypt, Morocco and the Cape Verde Islands and winter sport destinations such as Innsbruck, Salzburg, a new destination offered this winter by Transavia, and Kittila. The popular intercontinental destinations are the exotic sun destinations such as the Dominican Republic, Curaçao, Dubai and Mauritius, city trips to New York, and this winter Air Belgium are also operating flights to Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa. Plenty of choice for anyone who wants to get away, whether to the snow or on the sun!

Festive cheer at Brussels Airport

At Brussels Airport, passengers are welcomed with festive cheer: everywhere there are decorations, including more than 150 Christmas trees, over 1 million lights (or 7 kilometres of light garlands), and there are cosy corners where passengers can enjoy a moment of peace and quiet. You can also meet Father Christmas and his helpers at Brussels Airport from 18 December. In addition, there are various attractive Insta-worthy backdrops and a giant, illuminated Christmas bauble in front of the departure hall, which provide the ideal setting for an original family selfie. Passengers can upload their photos to the website https://brusselsairport-warmwishes.be/ and will then receive them as digital Season’s Greetings cards in their mailbox.

People looking for Christmas gifts will find, as usual, a wide range of perfumes, cosmetics, clothing, gifts and chocolates in the tax-free shops. New at the airport are the six WH Smith stores which carry books, newspapers and magazines, in addition to a range of snacks and other items. In addition, there are also two new Capi shops where you can buy all sorts of electronics and gadgets (1 in Pier A and 1 in Pier B). The departure hall also offers a renovated Exki restaurant, and for the sports enthusiasts there is The Belgian Red House in Pier A where you can follow sport events on the big screen.

Our tips for a smooth journey

There are various ways for passengers to travel to the airport: if you are coming by car, you can reserve a parking space in advance online. The airport can also be easily reached by public transport or with the Flibco shuttle buses. Information about the various options is available on the Brussels Airport website. You can also use the online tool on our website to get customised advice about the time you had best arrive at the airport for a specific flight. For short and medium-haul flights of Brussels Airlines and the Lufthansa Group (Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian), passengers can make use of the Baggage Drop Off; for this, you must check in at home online so that you can quickly self-check in your luggage at the airport using your boarding pass. For all other questions about their journey, passengers can get in touch on the website with the chatbot BRUce.

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About Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport is one of the most important airports in Europe. In 2025, Brussels Airport welcomed 24.4 million passengers and transported 795,000 tonnes of cargo through the airport. Brussels Airport caters for the specific needs of business travellers and holidaymakers alike, on both intra-European and long haul flights. In 2026, the airport offers direct connections between Belgium and 205 destinations worldwide, with flights operated by 83 airlines.   

The airport also offers a leading cargo platform, specialised in the transport of pharmaceutical products, perishable goods, e-commerce and live animals. Brussels Airport is the most important pharmaceutical hub in Europe.

With its SHIFT 2027 strategy Brussels Airport Company intends to strengthen its position as a major European hub, accelerate its ambitious sustainability goals, e.g. through the European Green Deal project Stargate, and continue to diversify its activities by focusing on innovation and cooperation.

Brussels Airport is the second most important economic engine in Belgium, good for 64,000 direct and indirect jobs and is owned and operated by Brussels Airport Company. The shareholders are a consortium between PMV and private investors (75%) and FPIM/SFPI (25%). 

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Contact

Press Office Brussels Airport Company Luchthaven Brussel Nationaal 1M 1930 Zaventem

+32 (0)2 753 53 53 (for journalists only)

media@brusselsairport.be

www.brusselsairport.be