Over the summer holidays, Brussels Airport welcomed more than 4.4 million passengers, far exceeding the forecasted number. This strong result is about 81% of the number of passengers who used the airport in the summer of 2019. The data refers to the period between Friday, 1 July and Wednesday, 31 August, 2022.
Brussels Airport used advanced models to forecast peak periods and handle them as efficiently as possible. The airport also worked closely with all its partners to ensure that the summer season ran smoothly. Additionally, the airport reduced long queues and waiting times thanks to the online tool on the Brussels Airport website, where passengers could access customized advice regarding the best time to arrive at the airport.
The successful summer numbers are partly due to the airport welcoming more Dutch travelers and to the several last-minute bookings for the holidays.
After two summers of travel restrictions due to Covid, the success of this summer is an important sign of recovery for the aviation sector. According to Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company, summer 2022 marked an important season for the entire airport community, despite the challenges that the sector had experienced worldwide.
Even if we had some delays due to the great holiday rush, we made every effort to make sure our passengers could catch their flight in the best possible conditions. That we managed to do so, is due to a good anticipation of the recovery of traffic as of the end of 2021 and the efficient collaboration between numerous partners.
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company.
“This was a particularly important summer for our entire airport community, and I am very happy that together we have succeeded in getting so many people smoothly to their destination. It was a summer with quite a few challenges worldwide for the sector, but at Brussels Airport we have succeeded in ensuring our passengers could start their holiday without major operational problems or interminably long queues thanks to a good collaboration and preparation”, said Feist.
The success of the summer season was possible despite the lack of staff, with the airport reporting about 600 open positions, slightly more than the average before the Covid crisis.
In the past few months, Aviato, the airport’s employment center, has organized recruitment campaigns and Job cafés, which helped fill hundreds of vacancies.
