Brussels Airport Company expects nearly 1,060,000 passengers between 19 December and 4 January—about three per cent more than last year and an all-time high for the holiday period. The busiest departure day will be Friday, 19 December, when close to 70,000 travellers are forecast. To ease the rush, the airport will stage a children’s choir concert in the departure hall and roll out additional staff for crowd management.
Operationally, the airport urges departing passengers to arrive earlier than usual, pre-book car-parking and download its app for live queue updates. Security rules remain unchanged (liquids limited to 100 ml containers in a one-litre bag), but officials caution that ongoing works on the airport ring road could add 15-20 minutes to driving times.
For travellers who realise they may still need a Schengen visa—or simply want to double-check entry requirements before heading to Brussels—online provider VisaHQ can cut through the paperwork quickly. The platform’s Belgium page (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lists the latest visa rules, allows digital document upload and offers courier collection, letting passengers bypass embassy queues during the holiday rush.
![Brussels Airport Warns of Record 1 Million-Plus Travellers Over Christmas Break]()
For mobility managers, the surge coincides with tight aircraft seat availability across European hubs, meaning late-booked business trips may incur higher fares or force routings via Amsterdam or Paris. Employers should check ticket flexibility clauses and brief travellers on potential delays at security and border control, especially non-EU nationals who must register in the new Entry/Exit System kiosks.
Cargo flows may also feel the pressure: handlers expect peak e-commerce volumes and advise shippers to file advance cargo manifests early to secure slots. Truck access times to the Brucargo zone may be temporarily capped during the peak passenger wave.
Despite the crowd forecast, airport management stresses that “minimal disruption” is anticipated, crediting new e-gates and 12 extra border-control booths installed this autumn. Travellers should nonetheless build in buffer time for connections and onward rail journeys from Brussels-Zuid/Midi, where Eurostar and Thalys services are also running amended timetables this week.
Operationally, the airport urges departing passengers to arrive earlier than usual, pre-book car-parking and download its app for live queue updates. Security rules remain unchanged (liquids limited to 100 ml containers in a one-litre bag), but officials caution that ongoing works on the airport ring road could add 15-20 minutes to driving times.
For travellers who realise they may still need a Schengen visa—or simply want to double-check entry requirements before heading to Brussels—online provider VisaHQ can cut through the paperwork quickly. The platform’s Belgium page (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lists the latest visa rules, allows digital document upload and offers courier collection, letting passengers bypass embassy queues during the holiday rush.
For mobility managers, the surge coincides with tight aircraft seat availability across European hubs, meaning late-booked business trips may incur higher fares or force routings via Amsterdam or Paris. Employers should check ticket flexibility clauses and brief travellers on potential delays at security and border control, especially non-EU nationals who must register in the new Entry/Exit System kiosks.
Cargo flows may also feel the pressure: handlers expect peak e-commerce volumes and advise shippers to file advance cargo manifests early to secure slots. Truck access times to the Brucargo zone may be temporarily capped during the peak passenger wave.
Despite the crowd forecast, airport management stresses that “minimal disruption” is anticipated, crediting new e-gates and 12 extra border-control booths installed this autumn. Travellers should nonetheless build in buffer time for connections and onward rail journeys from Brussels-Zuid/Midi, where Eurostar and Thalys services are also running amended timetables this week.
