Brussels Airport sees strong cargo growth in March

Apr 13, 2017: Brussels Airport has seen strong cargo growth at the airport for the month of March. Last month, more than 50,000 tonnes of cargo was shipped, a rise of 15.3 percent in comparison with the figures in 2015.

The dedicated cargo segment (+27.2 percent) and express services (+19.8 percent) show healthy growth, while cargo on board passenger flights (-2.9 percent) dropped slightly, largely because of the departure of Jet Airways.

The airport has had the best ever first quarter in its history. Cargo traffic increased in the past quarter by 13.3 percent in comparison with the same period in 2015.

In March this year, Brussels Airport welcomed nearly 1.9 million passengers, a new record for the month in the history of the airport. In comparison with the previous record, set in March 2015, there is a rise of no less than 9.8 percent. The largest growth was enjoyed by both Brussels Airlines and Ryanair. There is also growth in both European short-haul traffic and long-haul traffic such as ANA to Tokyo, and this growth has been achieved despite Jet Airways no longer flying long-haul flights from the airport. Delta Airlines has also started flights to Atlanta.

In March 2016, the airport was closed from 22 March after the attack. A comparison between the passenger figures for 2016 and 2017 would give a distorted picture. This explains the comparison with the figures of 2015, when Brussels Airport enjoyed a record year.