Gateway · Brussels
24.38 million passengers in 2025, a record €828 million in revenue and record €302 million of investment — Brussels Airport recovered faster than its reputation, even while national strikes cost it 275,000 journeys.
Brussels Airport handled 24.38 million passengers in 2025 (+3.3%), reaching 92% of its all-time 2019 peak of 26.36 million. Growth was driven by leisure, visiting friends and family, and airline network expansion — achieved despite repeated national strike actions that cancelled thousands of flights and disrupted around 275,000 passenger journeys.
Financially the airport had its best year: revenue rose to a record €828 million (+6%), net profit reached €84 million, and investment hit a record €302 million in infrastructure, connectivity and sustainability.
Brussels Airlines anchors the hub with 90+ destinations within the Lufthansa Group; Ryanair reshaped the low-cost landscape and TUI fly Belgium leads leisure. Cargo is the quiet differentiator: 795,000 tonnes in 2025 (+8.5%), with express and belly cargo growing fastest on new long-haul routes.
Antwerp keeps its own small city airport focused on regional and business routes — a feeder niche rather than a competitor. The airport sits 12 km northeast of Brussels with a direct rail link into all three central stations.
BRU is the airport that disproves the strike stereotype in the numbers: it grew 3.3% in a year with multiple national strike days, lost 275,000 journeys — and still posted record revenue and record investment. The hidden engine is cargo: at 795,000 tonnes and +8.5%, Brussels punches far above its passenger rank, and the new long-haul belly routes matter more to the hotel market than any single leisure carrier. For travellers the practical rule: morning departures on strike days, and the direct train to Midi for Eurostar connections instead of a taxi.
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