New routes to Riga and Dublin launched in October

With almost 2 million passengers flying through Brussels Airport in October 2014, the airport just falls short of the 19 million passengers mark with 18,839,139 passengers registered since the start of 2014. This trend is driven by the expansion of the low-cost companies as is the case elsewhere in Europe with growth reinforced by the positive results of Brussels Airlines and the long haul segment.

Passengers

The number of passengers continued to grow registering a 19.3% increase in October. Growth is attributed to the significant progress made by Brussels Airlines and the low-cost companies. Network expansion with the arrival at Brussels Airport of Emirates in September reinforces this positive trend. Progress is registered both in the O&D segment (originating and destination passengers) driven by the expanded offer of destinations and in the transfer segment (+31.1% on October 2013). This confirms Brussels Airport’s position as international Star Alliance hub.

Cargo

Cargo too continues to grow registering a 7.5% increase on October 2013. This result surpasses the average global cargo growth rate (+ 5.2% in September 2014 vs September 2013) and stands out in Europe where air cargo transport is stagnating.

Belly cargo carried on board of passenger aircraft grew significantly in October (+ 15.3%) whereas full freighter cargo was up 4.1%. In the latter segment, growth is driven mainly by integrator traffic.

Movements

The number of aircraft movements is up 9.2% on October 2013. The average number of passengers on board grew to 109 passengers per flight in October 2014 (+ 8.2% on October 2013 and + 37.9% compared to October 2000). This is explained by the use of larger aircraft and an improved passenger payload.

Network

October saw the opening of new routes to Riga (Brussels Airlines) and Dublin (Ryanair).