Brussels Airport cargo volumes up by 6.5% in October

Brussels Airport handled 46,603 tons of cargo in October, up by 6.5% on the figure for the same month of 2015.
Cargo carried on the main deck of full freighters was up by 28.8% year on year to reach 17,119 tons. The gateway’s operating authority, Brussels Airport Company, noted that freighter operations undertaken by Singapore, Qatar and Ethiopian Airlines had driven this growth.
However, bellyhold cargo through the airport was down by 4.5% year on year to 11,606 tons and integrator traffic was down by 2.4% to 17,878 tons.
The latter can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that the month of October included five weekends, and on weekends there fewer express shipments than on weekdays.
With regard to the decline in bellyhold volumes, Brussels Airport Company said that this was largely due to the departure of Indian carrier Jet Airways to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in March this year.
However, the decrease resulting from Jet’s departure was partly compensated for by a growth in lower deck airfreight volumes on both Brussels Airlines and United Airlines.
The strong overall growth of airfreight volumes in October added to a similarly successful September. However, over the course of the January – October period, total cargo traffic was down by 2.3% year on year to 399,554 tons.
The number of dedicated cargo flights increased by 2.9% in October compared to the same month of 2015.
Late last week, Brussels Airport Company chief executive Arnaud Feist laid out the gateway’s long-term strategy in the form of a programme called Strategic Vision 2040. The plan calls for further investment in the airport’s cargo handling infrastructure.