Brussels Airport saw total flown freight volumes surge by 40% in June compared to the same month in 2020. The strong growth in freight volumes observed since the start of the year continued, largely as a result of increased demand for air cargo across Europe.
The key Belgian hub handled 646,589 passengers In June, a 73% decrease compared to June 2019. Despite this, June has been the best month since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and the passenger figures confirm the positive trend seen since April 2021, said an airport spokesperson.
Cargo figures are compared to those for 2020 since the Covid crisis only had a limited impact on freight volumes last year.
Compared to last year, and as a result of the increase in passenger flights, freight volumes on passenger flights increased strongly (+624% compared to June 2020), although these volumes remain lower than would be expected in a normal year (-34% compared to 2019).
The full- freighter segment also increased with 38%, once again with an overall growth for all existing partners.
The new routes of Longtail Aviation and China Central Honghao Airlines contributed to this growth. Integrator services increased 13% compared to June 2020.
Asia remains the major destination for air freight, followed by North America and Africa. Trucked volumes increased by 48% compared to the same month last year.
The shipments of Covid-19 vaccines to and from Brussels Airport also continue, with over 150 million vaccines handled at the airport, for export outside of Europe. This makes Brussels Airport one of the most important hubs in the world for the global distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
