More than 1.7 million passengers at Brussels Airport in March - Almost 65,000 tons of cargo shipped

In the month of March Brussels Airport again received more than 1.7 million passengers, an increase of 9% compared with March 2023. And that despite the slight negative impact of the temporary cancellation of flights to Israel, and social unrest at some airlines. The total volume of transported cargo decreased slightly by 2% to reach almost 65,000 tonnes.

Passengers: +9% compared to March 2023

In March, Brussels Airport welcomed 1,742,478 passengers, 9% more than in March 2023. The suspension of Tel Aviv-bound flights continued to have a negative impact on passenger numbers, though there was a limited resumption of flights in late March. The strikes at Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa also had a negative impact, as did the announcement of the strike at Brussels Airlines, which could ultimately be averted.

The proportion of departing transfer passengers was almost 17%, showing an increase in the number of intercontinental passengers.

The top 10 countries in March were Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Morocco and Portugal.

The first quarter of 2024 saw a total of 4.7 million passengers, almost 10% more than in 2023. The proportion of transfer passengers thereby remained stable with growth in intercontinental travellers and fewer intra-European travellers.

Cargo volumes: down 2% from March 2023

Total cargo volumes through Brussels Airport fell by 2% in March compared to March 2023, reaching almost 65,000 tonnes. Flown cargo volumes also experienced a small decline of almost 2% to a total of 54,000 tonnes.

There was a 5% decrease in the full freighter segment, while belly cargo increased by 20%, in line with increasing capacity in terms of passenger flights. Express services are down 9% and trucked volumes are also down 5%.

The main import regions are Asia, with a strong increase of 42% compared to March 2023 due to an increase in e-commerce, Africa (+3%) and North America (-21%). The main export region is again Asia (-23%), followed by Africa (-1%) and North America (-30%).

In terms of cargo volumes, there was a slight growth of 1% in the first quarter. Flown cargo volumes registered growth of 2% this quarter.

Aircraft movements: 3% increase compared to March 2023

There were 15,237 aircraft movements in March, up 3% from March 2023. The number of passenger flights increased by 7% compared to 2023. In March 2024, there were an average of 140 passengers per flight, two more passengers than last year. The number of cargo flights fell by almost 10%, mainly due to the decrease in express flights.