In May, 405,000 passengers passed through Brussels Airport, a decrease of 82% compared to May 2019.

The Airport notes that although this is a very poor number, it is already a significant improvement compared to last month (April 2021: 250,065 passengers). This increase was possible due to the lift of the ban on non-essential travel and an increase in European destinations where passengers can travel to once again, as the number of COVID infections falls.

The share of transfer passengers is 18%. This percentage is similar to 2019 as local traffic is recovering. The share of intercontinental passengers is 22%, now that non-essential travel has been re-authorised within Europe.

The strong growth in cargo volumes seen since the start of this year is continuing, mainly due to the high demand for air cargo across Europe. Cargo volumes are compared to the 2020 figures as the COVID crisis has had only a limited impact on air freight.

Compared to last year, freight volumes on passenger flights increased strongly (+633%) but these volumes are still limited compared to normal times (-50.4% compared to 2019).

The integrator segment experienced a 16% growth compared to May 2020 and the full-freighter segment increased by 22%. Therefore, the total flown freight volumes saw a growth of 33% compared to May 2020.

The trucked volumes experienced an increase of 47% compared to last year. In the full-freighter segment, there is an overall growth for all existing partners.

Import and export volumes have increased, especially inbound volumes coming from Asia and North America. COVID-19 vaccine shipments to and from Brussels Airport also continue, with over 105 million of vaccines handled at the airport to this day, making Brussels Airport an important hub in the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.