BRU Volumes Up 102%

Passenger traffic in 2022 was up 102% on 2021 with almost 19 million passengers travelling through Brussels Airport or 72% of pre-crisis numbers. Following a first half-year impacted by Covid travel restrictions, passenger numbers showed a strong recovery in the second half-year with several months exceeding 80% of the 2019 figures. By contrast, after a record year in 2021 (+30%), cargo traffic saw an 8% drop in its volumes in 2022, with a total of 776,000 tonnes carried.
"After two complicated years, marked by the Covid crisis and the travel restrictions it entailed, Brussels Airport posted very strong growth in 2022. We are proud to have been able to manage this growth by offering a high-quality service to our passengers, who rediscovered the joys of travelling, whether for their holidays, family reunions or business trips,” explains Arnaud Feist, CEO Brussels Airport. “Since last summer, our network has been almost completely rebuilt and for several months we attained 80% of the 2019 passenger figures. The year 2023 looks promising with new destinations and increased frequencies for both short and long-haul flights. Brussels Airport's cargo area has also done well this year after a record-breaking 2021.”
Passenger numbers up by 102% on 2021

In 2022, 18,930,698 passengers travelled through Brussels Airport. This represents an increase of 102% compared to 2021 (9.4 million passengers), reaching almost 72% of the 2019 level (26.4 million passengers).
After a first half of the year still heavily impacted by Covid-related travel restrictions, holiday traffic, as well as travel to visit friends and relatives, picked up during the summer months to reach over 80% of pre-Covid traffic from July to October. From the autumn onwards, a tangible upturn in business travel was also observed, as well as a growth in the number of connecting passengers at Brussels Airport, marking a significant recovery in the hub activity linked to Brussels Airlines and its Star Alliance partners.