2016 at Brussels South Charleroi Airport: 7,303,720 passengers travelled through Charleroi, a 5% increase compared with 2015 results

Growth was virtually constant throughout 2016. Only May, August and September saw slight dips in passenger numbers, while July and October maintained the status quo in 2016.

  

Nobody could have forgotten that March 2016 changed everything for airports. Measures and plans have been adapted to tackle changes in terms of security. In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Brussels South Charleroi Airport welcomed a large number of initially unplanned flights to help limit the impact on Belgian and foreign travellers. These events explain the biggest rise in passenger numbers in 2016, recorded in March.

However, following the tragic events that our country experienced, all security systems were reassessed and redesigned. Strategic groups analysed different options to continue to reinforce security. It was against this backdrop that Brussels South Charleroi Airport decided to set up a pre-control area in its former Express car park, before passengers enter the terminal, in order to guarantee everybody’s security.

In spite of this terribly sad event, the airport has redoubled its efforts to continue to grow and guarantee the future of its jobs in order to establish its socio-economic role in a region that suffered somewhat in 2016. After the rain came the fair weather, and thanks to a lot of hard work, plenty of good news followed.

New routes were added to the range of destinations available from Brussels South Charleroi Airport. Toulouse, Glasgow and Verona are now on the list of cities connected to Charleroi via Ryanair. The Irish airline also announced that it was going to reopen its route to Barcelona-El Prat. This popular line with passengers at Brussels South Charleroi Airport is due to start again on 26 March.

For its part, TUI fly launched flights from Charleroi to Rabat in Morocco. At a press conference in December 2016, the Belgian airline announced the expansion of its activities at BSCA. From this spring, TUI fly will be basing a 5th plane here, a Boeing 737-800, with a capacity of 189 seats, helping to increase its services from Charleroi. The frequency of flights to five destinations already available from/to BSCA will be increased, and six new routes will be offered by TUI fly.

 Destination

Increased
Frequency

Malaga

Spain

Casablanca

Morocco

Nador

Morocco

Tangier

Morocco

Oujda

Morocco

 

 

New

Routes

Naples

Italy

Trieste

Italy

Essaouira

Morocco

Ouarzazate

Morocco

Hurghada

Egypt

Sarajevo

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Within the context of our wish to diversify, we are thrilled about the arrival of Air Corsica which, as of March 2017, will be the fifth airline flying from Brussels South Charleroi Airport. During a press conference in September 2016, the airline announced that it would be launching two new routes to Corsica from Charleroi. Ajaccio and Bastia will thus be added to the destinations available from BSCA. Flights will be offered on Airbus A320 planes, with a capacity of 180 passengers.

As well as this, during the last few days of 2016, Belarusian airline, Belavia, revealed that they would be offering three flights a week to Minsk from Charleroi (Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays). Embraers 175 planes with a capacity of 12 business class passengers and 64 economy passengers will be operating these flights. They will be taking off from Charleroi at 12.00 and landing in Minsk at 15.40, local time.

There have also been developments in BSCA’s own services. In its continued efforts to improve the passenger experience within the airport, a number of new services have been launched. Early Check-In now allows passengers due to take off between 6.30am and 8.30am to check in their luggage the day before, between 6pm and 10pm (TUI fly and Ryanair flights only). There has also been investment in the airport’s IT system, and we now offer free, unlimited WiFi throughout the terminal to passengers travelling through BSCA.

Two Club outlets have opened in the terminal, one in the public area and one in the departure lounge. Club offers travellers a carefully selected range of quality products to meet the expectations of French and Dutch-speaking customers, thanks to the expertise of the Standaard Boekhandel group.

Brussels South Charleroi Airport was also behind all sorts of events with a focus on the community in 2016. The third Brussels South Charleroi Airport Gala evening welcomed over 1,600 people, with one simple goal: to help less well off children enjoy their first flight in Belgian airspace. A sports day, organised by the airport’s staff around the theme of family, also took place in September. The profits from this event helped cover the costs of giving 600 children the opportunity to take the skies for the very first time. The day that these flights took place, the 22 December, was incredibly emotional and full of wonder.

Jean-Jacques CLOQUET, BSCA’s CEO, is very enthusiastic about these results: “In a difficult economic climate, and amidst international concerns about security, Charleroi airport has managed to exceed its targets, thanks to the excellent work of its staff and its partners. 2016 saw many changes, with excellent growth and record passenger numbers, clearly highlighting our qualities: excellence in terms of both operations and access, a terminal with a friendly atmosphere, where the focus is on efficiency and a warm welcome. We had already crossed the seven million passenger mark in December, and we are thrilled that the final results were much higher than we had expected. The future is now ahead of us, and we mustn’t let our guard down, as we will only achieve our targets with hard work, rigour, and something that drives everybody at BSCA … A passion for aviation and the pride of working in a company at the cutting edge of socio-economic development, which is so vital for our region. We can only thank our passengers and our airlines for their trust and loyalty, but we must also thank our staff and partners for all their hard work in 2016.”

And looking to the future… For its 25th anniversary, Brussels South Charleroi Airport has opened its terminal T2, which will be operational from spring 2017. Initially, this will give us a more comfortable environment in which to welcome passengers during peak times. This exclusively Schengen terminal has eight check-in desks, three boarding gates and two luggage carousels in the baggage reclaim area for arrivals. Terminal T1 has also been extended, with the addition of three new non-Schengen boarding gates. Plans to extend the runway from 2,550m to 3,200m are also on the table, which will allow our airport to respond to the needs of a changing flying industry, and continue to attract new airlines.  

For any further information about the airport, whoever you are, please visit http://www.charleroi-airport.com.