Brussels Airport reported continued strong passenger demand in July 2026, but also recorded a slowdown in cargo activity in the month.
The Belgian hub handled 2,577,710 passengers, up 2.8% on July 2025, and its best monthly passenger performance since 2019.
But cargo volume handled was down 3.2% year-on-year to 66,612 tons. The decline was mainly due to a decrease in express shipments and lower volumes of air cargo moved by truck.
Cargo segments mixed performance
Air cargo volumes carried by truck fell 15.2% and express cargo fell 12.4%. Air cargo volumes down 1.3% overall
Other segments showed stronger results. Total cargo volume rose 6.6 percent and belly cargo on passenger aircraft climbed 11.4 percent.
Imports went mainly to Asia, Latin America and North America. Asia and Latin America led in exports, with Africa in third.
Passengers buoyed by summer holidays (Reuters)
Passenger numbers were significantly boosted as the summer holiday season kicked off.
Brussels Airport had its busiest day on 20 July, welcoming more than 92,000 passengers. The holiday period helped traffic, with passengers returning from the two Tomorrowland weekends and visitors heading for the Formula 1 weekend at Spa Francorchamps.
Spain, Italy and Greece were the most popular, followed by Turkey, Morocco, Germany, Portugal, France, the United States and Switzerland.
Transfer trip passengers made up 11% of total departures, with leisure traffic being a bigger contributor to passenger activity in the summer period.
Commercial flights are rising
The number of commercial flight movements was up 1.1% compared with July 2025. Passenger flights increased 2.5% and cargo flight movements decreased 6.9%
The fall in cargo flights mirrored weaker activity in the full-cargo and express segments.
The total July figures for Brussels Airport show the different trends in the airport’s operations – healthy passenger demand and weaker cargo, affected by softer express and trucked volumes.
