Events

Brussels Airport is getting ready to welcome Carnival holidaymakers

Families first

Starting this coming Friday, tens of thousands of passengers will be making their way to Brussels Airport to jet off to exotic, winter sports or quite simply sunny destinations. To accommodate this significant number of travellers, Brussels Airport will be pulling out all the stops again to offer them every comfort and hospitality to make sure their holiday starts the minute they arrive at the airport.

Close to 650,000 passengers will pass through Brussels Airport over the 10 days of the Carnival school break, from Friday 21 February through Sunday 1 March. The busiest day is again likely to be the first Friday when no fewer than 74,000 passengers will be using Brussels Airport, 40,000 of whom will be flying out. Numbers that are comparable to those seen in 2019.

As is the case throughout the year at Brussels Airport, it is the short haul destinations that are the most popular, with Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Lisbon and Geneva making up the top 5. For the destinations further afield, Dubai heads up the ranking (no. 7 on the overall favourite destinations ranking), well above Moscow, Doha and New York. But during the Carnival holidays, it is the European destinations that are in high demand.

Le dimanche 1er mars, à l’occasion de la Journée du Compliment, un groupe de chanteurs sera présent dans le terminal pour inviter les passagers à chanter avec eux.

During the holiday periods, Brussels Airport sees a lot of arriving and departing families. Which is why the airport will again be setting up a dedicated security screening lane for families. Decked out in the Carnival theme, the Family Lane, which is hugely rated by children, will be opening as of tomorrow Wednesday 19 February, with free masks and crayons being handed out to the children.

On Sunday 1 March, on the occasion of the World Compliment Day, a group of singers will be livening up proceedings in the terminal by inviting passengers to join them in a fun sing-song.

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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

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