In April Brussels Airport welcomed 1.6 million passengers, up 0.4%. Although we record a small growth, the number of O&D passengers dropped by a striking 4%. O&D stands for Origin & Destination traffic: passengers that have Brussels Airport as their originating or final destination airport. This decrease is compensated however by the strong growth in the number of transfer passengers: up 18% on the corresponding month last year. This double digit growth in the long-haul segment contrasts with the decrease in the number of passengers travelling within Europe. In April, intra-European was affected by the Easter holidays that fell in April, whereas last year they fell in March. Moreover, the economic situation in the early season had a noticeable impact on holiday bookings.

The number of aircraft movements dropped by 4.2%, driven mainly by the use of larger aircraft by Brussels Airlines and the impact of the Easter holidays resulting in a decrease of the number of business flights.

Cargo traffic continues to do well. The volume carried in April totalled to 38,779 tonnes, up 1.2%. Belly cargo on long-haul passenger flights recorded a strong growth of nearly 10%.

In April a number of important new routes were opened, including a sixth daily flight to Africa by Brussels Airlines, new services with Aer Lingus to Cork, easyJet to Toulouse, Aegean Airlines to Iraklion, Eastern Airways to Southampton, Belle Air to Pristina and Jetairfly to Ponta Delgada. Several other airlines increased their frequencies including Aeroflot, British Airways and Estonian Air. Hainan Airlines started a fifth weekly service to Beijing to up the frequency on this route to a daily flight as of July.

Brussels Airport Press release, 9 May 2012

DHL Global Forwarding bundles air freight activities under one roof at Brucargo West with a total ground territory of 54,000 m²

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist within Deutsche Post-DHL Group starts building a new logistics center at Brucargo. With a total ground territory of 54,000 m² with 23,000 m² warehouse space, this facility unites DHL Global Forwarding Belgium’s air freight activities under one roof at Brucargo West. DHL Global Forwarding has been based in Brucargo since the cargo area was developed in 1980. This 27 million euro investment shows the decision to settle in the Brussels Airport freight area was the right one.

"DHL Global Forwarding's choice for Brucargo strengthens the status of the cargo area and Brussels Airport as a key employment platform in Belgium. Brussels Airport is our country's second economic driver, providing 20,000 direct and 40,000 indirect jobs. Through this 27 million euro investment in this new logistics platform, DHL Global Forwarding is reinforcing our strategy to focus on the specific logistics needs of our various key industry sectors”, says Jean-Claude Delen, CEO DHL Global Forwarding BeNeLux & France.

Meeting the most stringent air freight safety requirements and complying with the TAPA standards, the new ‘state-of-the-art’ logistics center will be ideally situated in this strategically important region, providing the best infrastructure for DHL Global Forwarding’s air freight activities. The new building provides dedicated areas such as a 1,750m² temperature-controlled area with the highest GDP standards to meet the needs of our life science customers and customers with other particular requirements. In respect to Deutsche Post-DHL's Go Green environmental protection program, this investment represents a green investment for DHL Global Forwarding, involving the deployment of environmental technologies including solar panels installations and water recovery systems.

Arnaud Feist, CEO Brussels Airport says: "We are very pleased that a key partner such as DHL Global Forwarding did choose again for Brucargo and Brussels Airport. The extensive freight capacity available on our many long-haul passenger and freight flights with Brucargo’s unique geographic location are definitely key assets. Today Brucargo houses many important players in the air freight chain including forwarders, road transport companies, handling firms and airlines alongside central and operational services, such as the customs authorities and the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain. The new direct connection between the E19 high way and Brucargo with its own access and exit system, is crucial for stakeholders such as DHL Global Forwarding seen the intensity of the traffic flows. DHL Global Forwarding's continued presence brings a significant added value."

Despite the difficult financial and economic climate, Jean-Claude Delen is delighted to announce this investment which seals the future of DHL Global Forwarding Belgium at Brucargo.

Brussels Airport/DHL press release, Brussels, May 8th 2012

The Brussels Airport Aviation Awards were granted for the first time in 2007 to airlines and partners for outstanding performance in the fields of punctuality and efficiency, environment and safety, and network and route development.

During the fifth edition of this event on Thursday 26 April 2012, the awards for the year 2011 were awarded.

Punctuality and efficiency
For passenger airlines, the criterion for punctuality is the best on-time performance for arrivals and departures at Brussels Airport, that is to say an arrival or departure time within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.

For freight airlines, the criterion for efficiency is the loading/unloading of the largest quantity of freight on the ground within the shortest amount of time.


Punctuality Award Regional Airline
KLM Cityhopper operates five daily flights to Amsterdam. In 2011, KLM Cityhopper achieved a punctuality rate of 94.3%.

Punctuality Award Short Haul Airline
SAS operates five daily flights to Copenhagen, three daily flights to Stockholm and two daily flights to Oslo. In 2011, SAS recorded a punctuality rate of 91.4%

Punctuality Award Long Haul Airline
Hainan Airlines currently operates a five weekly service to Beijing, which is to become a daily service as of 1 July. In 2011, Hainan Airlines recorded a punctuality rate of 93.4%

Efficiency Award Cargo
Asiana Cargo operates four flights a week using a Boeing 747-400F.
In 2011, Asiana Cargo succeeded in loading or unloading 0.91 ton of cargo per minute.


Environment en safety
The environmental and the safety award are granted for outstanding achievement in 2011 with regard to reducing aircraft nuisance and for contributing to the continuous improvement of safety standards and awareness.


Environmental Award
Singapore Airlines Cargo, for carrying out their flights with the most modern B747-400F aircraft. Moreover, their cargo flights are scheduled during the day, which significantly contributes to reducing noise nuisance for the neighbouring residents at night.

Safety Award
Brussels Airlines, and more particularly their Flight Safety Office, for their constructive cooperation (identification of hazards, reporting of incidents, proposals for improving safety) and for the continuous improvement of runway safety.


Network and route development
The network development awards are granted to airlines that have distinguished themselves by opening new routes or by the growth in the number of passenger or the volume of cargo carried.

Network Development Award Short Haul Airline
Brussels Airlines, who saw its passenger numbers on the European destinations from Brussels Airport grow by 800,000 passengers.

Network Development Award Long Haul Airline
Thai Airways International, for launching a three weekly service to Bangkok, using a Boeing 777 seating 292 passengers per flight.

Network Development Award Cargo Airline
Korean Air Cargo, for increasing their frequency from 3 to 7 cargo flight a week in 2011 making Brucargo one of Korean’s major hub in Europe.

Diamond Award
The Diamond Award was granted for the very first time in 2010 to a company or person who distinguished themselves in the Belgian aviation industry. This award was given only once: to Brussels Airlines for the year 2009.

For the year 2011 the Diamond Award goes to Jean Claude Delen, CEO Benelux & France at DHL and Managing Director of DHL Global Fowarding.

Jean Claude Delen has played a leading part in the growth of DHL’s Benelux hub at Brucargo. He undertook many initiatives to further improve the quality of cargo handling services at Brucargo and, as former chairman of FIATA, succeeded in putting the cargo industry in Belgium and at Brussels Airport firmly on the map.

Brussels Airport Press release 26 April 2012

Since a few months, the public men’s restrooms at Brussels Airport are being systematically equipped with waterless urinals. The idea is to equip all sanitary blocks in the terminal with this type of urinal. The conventional water-flush urinals will soon be history. This decision will save up to 30,000 cubic meters of precious drinking water per annum, which corresponds with the average water consumption of 400 families.

The waterless urinals are equipped with biochemical filters allowing them to operate autonomously without rinsing water. This does not only lead to considerable cost savings but also benefits the environment. The new urinals cause less odour nuisance and are easier to clean. Contrary to what one may expect, they are more hygienic than conventional urinals and are less prone to blockages. This means that their availability is much higher than that of toilets that regularly require maintenance, or get blocked.

This technology has already been applied at several other airports around the globe and we are sure to see waterless toilets at other places where the restrooms are frequently used.

Whenever a restroom is renovated, the lighting too is systematically changed. The 2,000 energy saving bulbs are replaced by motion sensor activated LED lighting. This will result in an energy saving of 35%. Brussels Airport’s Infrastructure, Facilities and Construction department has for some time been testing several new lighting techniques to further reduce energy consumption in the future whilst enhancing user comfort.

Brussels Airport Press release, 25 April 2012

Starting today, the Irish carrier Aer Lingus will be operating a three weekly service between Brussels Airport and the Irish coastal city of Cork. During the summer season, the route will be flown with Airbus 320 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The new route was inaugurated by Christof Mueller, CEO of Aer Lingus and former CEO of Sabena, and by Arnaud Feist, CEO of The Brussels Airport Company.

Schedule:

Code: Select all

EI846 Cork 11.00 -> Brussels 13.35
EI847 Brussels 14.15 -> Cork 14.55

Aer Lingus has been operating a direct service between the Irish capital Dublin and the European capital via Brussels Airport for many years now. This summer they will be doing so 18 times a week.

County Cork is a popular holiday destination, which can also boast an attractive county capital. Cork City is located on the estuary of river Lee and has been a centre for literature, music and cinema for nearly a century. Always surprising, with its many narrow lanes, galleries, shops, pubs, restaurants and parks which invite to be discovered, it is no wonder that Cork was elected Cultural Capital of Europe 2005.

Brussels Airport, March 26, 2012