In October, 1,871,732 passengers passed through Brussels Airport, representing 81% of the September 2019 traffic. The strong growth in passenger traffic observed this summer continues with the 4th consecutive month reaching 80% of the pre-crisis passenger level.
As in September, business travel continues to grow after a sharp decline during the Covid crisis. There are still more Dutch travellers at Brussels Airport who want to avoid the crowds at Dutch airports.
With the autumn holidays starting a week earlier for French-speaking schoolchildren, October also saw a strong increase in departing passengers.
Most popular destinations
The top ten destination countries in October were Spain, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, the USA, France, Greece, the UK and Morocco. Turkey and Greece in particular exceeded the October 2019 performance due to the early start of the autumn holidays.
Cargo: 9% decline in volumes compared to 2021
In October, cargo traffic at Brussels Airport was down by 9% compared to the same period in 2021 and up by 21% compared to 2019.
Air cargo volumes were down 9% year-on-year to 53,400 tonnes, mainly due to a particularly good year in 2021 for the Brussels Airport cargo area.
In general, cargo volumes are under pressure due to continuing geopolitical tensions, lockdowns in China, the threat of a recession and its impact on e-commerce.
Detailed figures are available in our press release.