The fact that the Christmas holidays largely fell in January this time had a positive impact on the figures, but the omikron variant played a negative role. “In the last two weeks of January, passenger numbers were again under pressure due to the worsening epidemiological situation in Europe and the imposed travel restrictions and testing obligations,” it said in a press release. “The ban on flights to Morocco has also negatively affected the monthly results. Fortunately, this ban has been lifted since February 7.”
In the end, the airport arrived at 800,518 passengers, or 52 percent below the level of January 2019. Compared to January last year, the number of passengers has almost tripled. But in January 2021 there were very strict travel restrictions to contain the second corona wave, including a ban in Belgium on non-essential travel from January 27.
In the coming months, Brussels Airport expects the return of four airlines that had suspended their flights to and from Brussels at the start of the corona pandemic: Delta Air Lines, Air Transat, CSA Czech Airlines and Ukraine International Airlines.
Freight transport continued its growth in January. More than 60,000 tons of cargo were handled at Brussels Airport, 4 percent more than in January last year and 10 percent more than in January 2019. “The first weeks of January have been particularly busy due to the high demand for air freight. This phenomenon is partly due to due to the disruption of global goods supply chains,” the airport said.