Brussels Airport handled nearly 1.7 million passengers in October, despite the economic recession still an increase of 3.3% on the corresponding period last year. For the first ten months of the year, Brussels Airport recorded a growth of over 10% on 2010. The strongest growth was recorded in the long haul and low-cost segments; the increase in leisure and intra-European was more limited. Once again, growth was largely driven by Brussels Airlines.
Cargo
With a growth of 1.8%, cargo is only slightly down on October 2010, which – given the worldwide decline in cargo traffic – is a satisfactory result. The decrease only applies to full-freighter traffic and cargo carried on board passenger aircraft; integrator traffic continues to show positive growth figures.
Aircraft movement
The small decrease in movements is explained by the fall in cargo traffic. However, the decrease in the number of movements is compensated by the use of on average larger aircraft.
Winter season 2011-2012
The new winter season started on Sunday 28 October, with one new airline operating from Brussels Airport, Thai Airways International since 17 November, and 5 new destinations:
Thai Airways International | Bangkok | 3x/week |
Jetairfly | Phuket/Bangkok | 1x/week |
Jetairfly | Santo Domingo | 1x/week |
Brussels Airlines | Bamako | 2x/week |
Air France | Nantes/Bordeaux | 2x/day |
Compared to the previous winter season, several airlines have increased their frequency or are using larger aircraft, including Air Arabia (Casablanca, Nador, Tangier), Air Canada (Montreal), Belle Air (Tirana), Delta Air Lines (New York JFK), Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi), Jet Airways (Mumbai and Newark), Royal Jordanian (Amman), United Airlines (Newark), US Airways (Philadelphia).
Brussels Airport, 30/11/2011