In March, Brussels Airport welcomed over 1.7 million passengers, down 0.5% from the same period last year. The nationwide industrial action, held on 31 March, had a significant negative impact on passenger numbers. The total amount of transported cargo increased by 5.7% to reach over 68,000 tonnes.
Passenger numbers: -0.5% compared to March 2024 In March 2025, 1,734,174 passengers travelled via Brussels Airport, down 0.5% compared to March last year. This downward trend can be explained by the national industrial action on March 31, a day on which no departing passenger flights could be operated and only around a third of arriving passenger flights could be operated.
Given that the mid-term holidays in Dutch-speaking schools ended in the first week of March, there were more arriving passengers than departing ones. The fact that only arriving flights were operated on March 31 also reinforced this trend. Transfer passengers made up about 15% of departing passengers, primarily on routes to and from Africa and North America.
The top 10 countries were Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, France, the United States, Türkiye, Morocco and the United Kingdom, respectively.
Flown cargo volumes: +7.1% compared to March 2024 Total cargo volumes through Brussels Airport in March 2025 increased by 5.7% compared to the same period last year, reaching 68,427 tonnes. Flown cargo volumes grew by 7.1% to a total of 58,105 tonnes.
There was a 4.7% decline in the full-freight segment. Belly cargo increased by 8.1%. Integrator services were up 18.2% compared to March 2024, while trucked volumes were down 1.7%.
The primary import regions were Asia, Africa and North America. The major export regions are again Asia, followed by Africa and North America.
Flight movements: +4.8% compared to March 2024 The number of flight movements in March rose by 4.8% compared to last year. The number of passenger flights saw a 2.9% increase. The number of freight flights rose by 8.1% compared with March 2024. | | About Brussels Airport Brussels Airport is one of the most important airports in Europe. In 2024, Brussels Airport welcomed 23.6 million passengers and transported 733,000 tonnes of cargo through the airport. Brussels Airport caters for the specific needs of business travellers and holidaymakers alike, on both intra-European and long haul flights. In 2025, the airport offers direct connections between Belgium and 210 destinations worldwide, with flights operated by 80 airlines.
The airport also offers a leading cargo platform, specialised in the transport of pharmaceutical products, perishable goods, e-commerce and live animals. Brussels Airport is the most important pharmaceutical hub in Europe.
With its SHIFT 2027 strategy, launched in 2022, Brussels Airport Company intends to strengthen its position as a major European hub, accelerate its ambitious sustainability goals, e.g. through the European Green Deal project Stargate, and continue to diversify its activities by focusing on innovation and cooperation. Brussels Airport is the second most important economic growth pool in Belgium, good for 64,000 direct and indirect jobs and is owned and operated by Brussels Airport Company. The shareholders are a consortium of private investors (75%) and the Belgian State (25%). Follow Brussels Airport on Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. | | | | |
