Brussels Airport Company expects more than 1 060 000 passengers between 19 December and 4 January, a three-per-cent jump on last year and an all-time high for the holiday season. The busiest day will be Friday 19 December, when close to 70 000 people are set to pass through the terminals.
To cope with the rush, the airport is deploying extra security staff, opening overflow parking and urging travellers to arrive earlier than usual. A children’s choir concert by the Scaletta Choir will greet departing passengers, part of an effort to keep crowd mood positive during peak queues. The airport’s app now pushes live wait-time notifications and gate changes in English, French and Dutch.
This winter, Brussels offers 137 direct destinations, including new routes to Sweden’s Scandinavian Mountains Airport, Larnaca in Cyprus and Chongqing in China. Long-haul demand remains strong to Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore, while classic ski hubs such as Innsbruck and Salzburg top the short-haul chart.
![Brussels Airport Forecasts Record 1 Million Travellers for the Christmas Break]()
For travellers keen to make the most of those new direct routes, VisaHQ offers a quick way to check visa requirements and file applications online. Its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) consolidates entry rules for hundreds of countries and provides real-time status tracking—handy for passengers squeezing paperwork into a busy holiday schedule.
From a corporate-mobility standpoint, the figures confirm Belgium’s rebound from pandemic lows and signal potential congestion for duty travellers. Companies should remind staff to budget extra transit time and pre-book parking or rail tickets to avoid missed flights. Airfreight managers should also anticipate possible bottlenecks at cargo gates as passenger volumes stretch airport resources.
Airport officials note that renovation works on the ring road could add 15-20 minutes to driving times. Travellers relying on rail should monitor NMBS/SNCB schedules, given the threat of strike action announced for 21 December.
To cope with the rush, the airport is deploying extra security staff, opening overflow parking and urging travellers to arrive earlier than usual. A children’s choir concert by the Scaletta Choir will greet departing passengers, part of an effort to keep crowd mood positive during peak queues. The airport’s app now pushes live wait-time notifications and gate changes in English, French and Dutch.
This winter, Brussels offers 137 direct destinations, including new routes to Sweden’s Scandinavian Mountains Airport, Larnaca in Cyprus and Chongqing in China. Long-haul demand remains strong to Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore, while classic ski hubs such as Innsbruck and Salzburg top the short-haul chart.
For travellers keen to make the most of those new direct routes, VisaHQ offers a quick way to check visa requirements and file applications online. Its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) consolidates entry rules for hundreds of countries and provides real-time status tracking—handy for passengers squeezing paperwork into a busy holiday schedule.
From a corporate-mobility standpoint, the figures confirm Belgium’s rebound from pandemic lows and signal potential congestion for duty travellers. Companies should remind staff to budget extra transit time and pre-book parking or rail tickets to avoid missed flights. Airfreight managers should also anticipate possible bottlenecks at cargo gates as passenger volumes stretch airport resources.
Airport officials note that renovation works on the ring road could add 15-20 minutes to driving times. Travellers relying on rail should monitor NMBS/SNCB schedules, given the threat of strike action announced for 21 December.
