Cargo volumes at Brussels Airport increased by 5.8% in 2018 with trucked and belly cargo making up for a fall in freighter and integrator traffic.

In 2018, Brussels Airport handled 731,613 tonnes, the highest volume in 10 years with total flown cargo up 1.5% to 543,493 tonnes and trucked cargo increasing 20.9% to 188,120 tonnes.

Belly cargo, which was up 14.1% to 162,424 tonnes benefitted from a number of new destinations.

Full freighter traffic was down 5% to 161,131 tonnes with express volumes down 1.7%, while across the flown cargo segment, imports were up 7% whilst exports remained stable.

Pharmaceuticals saw a significant increase in exports, with year-on-year growth of 32%.

Cargo was up 2.1% in December to 62,137 tonnes, with weaker growth being attributed to the nationwide strike in mid-December causing many airlines to cancel cargo flights as a precaution.

Belly cargo was up 2.8% to 14,213 tonnes, while integrator services were down 12% to 16,589 tonnes due to rising e-commerce volumes, caused by lighter weight products than traditional airfreight.

Trucked cargo was up 33.8% to 16,857 tonnes due to airlines not operating out of Brussels Airport because of the stricter noise restrictions imposed by the Brussels Region.