At Brussels airport: 9.4 millions passengers took a flight in 2021

Posted by TRAVEL TOP COUNTRY MAG MEDIA on January 25 2022, 08:30am

Categories: #belgium, #Brusselsairport, #plane, #aircraft, #passengers, #tourists

In 2021, Brussels Airport has reached 9.4 million passengers. A rise of 39% more than in 2020. Especially in the first half of the year the passenger figures were heavily impacted by the Covid crisis and the travel restrictions, the number of passengers began to rise again from the summer onward.

Passenger traffic: increase of 39% compared to 2020

In the first half of the year, the impact of the Covid crisis was particularly severe with only 16% of the passengers in 2019. The passenger figures began to climb again from the summer onwards, and in the second half of the year, no fewer than 7.4 million passengers travelled via Brussels Airport, an increase of 56% compared to the same period in 2020 but still 47% below the level of 2019. August was the best month of the year, with nearly 1.5 million passengers, 56% of 2019.

The ten most important countries in 2021 were Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Turkey, Germany, Greece, France, Morocco, the United States and Switzerland. Greece and Morocco in particular showed good figures compared to 2019 with passenger figures of more than 60% compared to 2019. The ten most popular destinations in 2021 were Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Malaga, Rome, Istanbul, Alicante, Milan, Frankfurt and Geneva.

Eurocontrol: passengers'profile have changed

The aircraft flying passengers who travelled in Europe bacame more older than before. Between 2010 and 2019 the average age increased every year, a total of 1.5 years, from 9 to 10.5 ("All Scheduled Pax" in the graph).

Splitting this market segment into low-cost and 'traditional' airlines, the low-cost carriers have the younger fleet, by around 3 years, but both steadily aged in the years up to 2019.
Airlines have certainly been investing in new aircraft, but the graph shows that they have not been arriving in the fleet fast enough to keep up with the growth in flights. In fact, 2019 showed a slight acceleration of ageing, as the deliveries of B737MAX were halted.
COVID-19 changed this. For the first time in 10 years, in 2020 the average aircraft was younger than the year before.

Analyzis by Eurocontrol

"We've reported in other snapshots and think papers how airlines reacted to the huge reduction in demand by simplifying,their fleets, removing older, less-efficient aircraft. From the graph here, it's clear that this response was strongest inlong-haul (4000km+) where in 2020, in just 12 months, the average age dropped from 10 to 8.5 years. For very-short haul flights (<500km) the fleet is already relatively old: there are more long-lived turboprop aircraft
operating over these distances, for example, and there has been only limited replacement of aircraft. In addition, low-cost carriers made deeper cuts to their flights in 2020, which shifted the balance of flights towards the fleets oftraditional airlines, hence older aircraft. As a result, from 2020 and against the overall trend, the average age of this group of aircraft actually increased.
In 2021, the trend to younger aircraft has continued, though not strongly. B737MAX aircraft have begun to enter service.

In 2021, reaching nearly 13,000 flights (2% of total) in December. The stronger recovery of low-cost carriers during the busy summer months also shifted the average age downwards.
As the recovery continues into 2022, it remains to be seen how many of the older, grounded aircraft – particularly fromthe long-haul fleet – will re-enter service and whether the shift to a younger, more fuel-efficient fleet is sustained."