Brussels Airlines has announced a big expansion next year, increasing its long-haul and intra-European capacity. While all the details of the former have not been revealed yet, the latter will increase by 18% next summer compared to this year’s estival season.
From April till the end of October 2025, the airline will operate 11 long-haul aircraft (Airbus A330) and 35 short- and medium-haul aircraft (Airbus A319/320). In addition to its own fleet, 4 Airbus A220 from Air Baltic will operate on behalf of the Belgian carrier during the summer season. This will bring the overall capacity of Brussels Airlines during summer 2025 to 50 aircraft, 6 more than in 2024, serving 91 destinations.
I’m excited to see Brussels Airlines growing and expanding. Not only are we introducing new destinations, but we’re also adding capacity to our existing network.
Jan Derycke, Head of Network and Planning, Brussels Airlines
With 11 more destinations in its European network, more sunny getaways will be possible for holidaymakers departing from Brussels. One of the highlights is Funchal, the capital city of Madeira, Portugal. As from April 2025, the Belgian flag carrier will operate weekly direct flights to this island, bringing the number of destinations in Portugal to four. The airline will also add extra frequencies to Faro and Porto.
Already ahead of summer, the airline has started flying to Fuerteventura, the second largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, as part of the winter 2024-2025 schedule. The route will continue to be served throughout the summer, bringing the number of estival destinations in Spain to 11. The carrier will also add capacity to Malaga, Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid.
Other destinations that will see increased frequency from Brussels are Samos and Lesbos, in Greece, as well as Vilnius, Lithuania, and Tanger, Morocco. Birmingham, United Kingdom, a destination restarted during the winter season, will also become a year-round destination.
Brussels Airlines will also start operating most daily flights from Brussels to Munich and Frankfurt, taking over from Lufthansa. In other changes within the Lufthansa Group, Brussels Airlines will replace Swiss in flights from the Belgian capital to Zurich and Geneva.
To keep up with the increased capacity and ensure customers are well taken care of, the airline is also hiring more personnel, with plans to add over 350 extra people to its team – 190 extra cabin crew members, 50 pilots, 40 ground staff, 40 at Maintenance and Engineering and 20 at the headquarters.
“Last summer, we were in the top 5 most reliable mayor airlines in Europe. We will once again put everything in place to be a reliable partner to bring our guests to your well-deserved holiday destination,” promised Jan Derycke, Head of Network and Planning at Brussels Airlines.
