Brussels Airport Statistics

Brussels Airport (BRU) is Belgium’s busiest airport and its main international gateway. About 12 km northeast of Brussels city centre, the airport serves as the home hub of Brussels Airlines and plays a critical role in the Star Alliance network.

More than 20 million travellers use Brussels Airport each year.

• The airport processed 24.38 million passengers in 2025, a 3.3% rise from 23.61 million in 2024 and roughly 92% of its 2019 peak.
• Passenger traffic reached an all-time high of 26.36 million in 2019 before plunging to 6.74 million in 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis.
• Recovery began in 2021 with 9.36 million passengers and continued through 18.93 million in 2022 and 22.20 million in 2023.

The airport handles well over 150,000 flight movements annually.

• In 2025, total operations climbed to 204,147, a 2.8% increase from 198,617 in 2024.
• Activity stood at 234,460 flights in 2019 before dropping to 95,813 in 2020.
• Total operations then rose to 118,733 in 2021, increasing to 178,930 in 2022 and 192,257 in 2023.

• Brussels Airlines dominates operations, linking the capital with more than 90 destinations and anchoring the Lufthansa Group presence.
• Ryanair, which began service in 2014, has grown into the second-largest operator and reshaped the competitive landscape.
• TUI Fly Belgium remains a major leisure carrier with a significant base at the airport.

• Brussels Airport offered 180 to 183 destinations through 68 to 70 airlines as of 2025.
• In 2024, ten new routes were launched, including five long-haul destinations: Nairobi (Kenya), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), and Curaçao.
• Short- and medium-haul additions included Krakow (Poland), Bergen (Norway), Bari (Italy), Gazipaşa (Turkey), Larnaca (Cyprus).
• These expansions combine hub-and-spoke connectivity via Brussels Airlines with extensive point-to-point service by other carriers.

Total cargo volume climbed to 795,271 tonnes in 2025, its highest level since the pandemic-era peak of 2021.

• The airport processed 795,271 tonnes of cargo in 2025, representing an 8.5% increase from 732,797 tonnes in 2024.
• Volumes totalled 700,846 tonnes in 2023, down 9.7% from the 775,721 tonnes recorded in 2022.
• During the pandemic cargo proved resilient, slightly declining from 667,220 tonnes in 2019 to 646,550 tonnes in 2020 and then surging to 843,140 tonnes in 2021 on demand for medical supplies and e-commerce.

Brussels Airport earned over €600 million in annual turnover in each of the last two years.

• The airport posted €691.7 million in turnover for 2024, up 9.5% on 2023.
• Turnover had stood at €595.1 million in 2019 before falling to €204.3 million in 2020.
• It then climbed to €274.0 million in 2021, €487.4 million in 2022, and €631.4 million in 2023.