Brussels Airport: Featured Airport

INTRO/OVERVIEW

Brussels is the Capital of Europe; it is both politically and economically at the heart of Europe.

BRU1Brussels Airport is a non-congested airport handling 220.000 movements on three runways. The airport handled 17 million passengers by 80 airlines in 2009 and with 700,000 tonnes of flown and trucked cargo is the 8th largest cargo airport in Europe.

Nine out of ten passengers are O&D, highlighting the strength of the Belgian market. With almost ten million people living within one hour drive and 20 million within one and a half hour, the airport has a wide catchment area incorporating the south of the Netherlands and the north-eastern part of France.

One of the major benefits of Brussels Airport is the broad profile of the Brussels Airport passengers, underpinned by strong business travel from political institutions such as the EU and NATO, and major multinationals based in and around the city. The large expatriate community also provides a significant leisure and VFR market.

It is for this reason that our motto at Brussels Airport is "Welcome to Europe".

CATCHMENT AREA

Brussels combines its role as the capital of Belgium, enhancing a headcount of almost 11 million inhabitants with being the Capital of Europe. Thanks to its central location in Western Europe the catchment within one and a half hour is about 20 million passengers.

Population numbers

  • Belgium 10.8 million
  • 6.2 million Flanders region (Northern region of Belgium)
  • 3.5 million Wallonia region (Southern region of Belgium)
  • 1.1 million Brussels
  • Cross border 8.1 million
  • 4.0 million The Netherlands
  • Brabant, Zeeland, Limburg
  • 4.1 million France
  • Nord, Pas-de Calais
  • Population drive times
  • 60 minutes 8 million
  • 90 minutes 20 million

Over 1.5 million inhabitants of foreign origin live in Belgium embodying an incredible mix of languages and cultures. Moreover, almost 300,000 Belgians live abroad. These people highly value a reliable connection with their home country.

MARKET INFO

Main companies headquartered in the region.

Petrochemical/Pharmaceutical: Total, Exxonmobil, BP, Evonik, Solvay, Dow, Degussa, Agfa, 3M, Borealis, Lanxess, Tessenderlo group, Monsanto, Johnson & Johnson, Gsk, Ucb, Basf, Omega Pharma, Pfizer, Alcon, Bayer, Innogenetics

FMCG: AbInbev, Guylian, Godiva, P&G, Neuhaus, Delhaize, The Coco Cola Company

Banking & Financial Services: BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, ING, Dexia, The Bank of the New York Mellon, Swift

Logistics & Distribution: HNA Group, Euronav, DHL, FedEx, NYK Logistics, PSA, Katoen Natie, ABX

Raw Materials & Minerals Technology: Bekaert, Umicore, ArcelorMittal, bhpbilliton, Rio Tinto, De Beers, Barry & Callebaut, Antwerp World Diamond Centre, Aleris, Nyrstar

Electronic/Mechanical Engineering: Daikin, Barco, Komatsu, Enfinity, Atlas Corpco, Cegelec, Caterpillar, Hisense, Yazaki, Honeywell, Nitto Denko, Philips, Sonaca, IBM

Automotive Industry: Audi, Ford, Toyota, Volvo, Geely, Opel

Construction & Marine Enineering: Besix, Dreging International, Jan De Nul

TOURISM

Belgium offers many tourism opportunities. From the Belgian coast to the green hills of the Ardennes, Belgium offers a wide variety of attractions.

Brussels

    Grand Place, Royal Gardens, Royal Galleries, 80 museums

    Cartoon murals, comic strip museum

    Atomium, mini-Europe

    • The Art cities (located 30-60 minutes from Brussels)
    • Antwerp: the Diamond capital of the world
    • Bruges and Ghent: medieval canals and castles (Unesco)
    • Rubens, Van Eyk, Ensor, Magritte Gourmet Belgium
    • Belgian chocolate (2,130 shops), waffles, mussels, frites & mayo
    • 130 breweries and 400 varieties of Belgian beer more Michelin starred restaurants per sqm. than France.
    • Castles & Gardens, more castles per sqm. than anywhere else in the world
    • River & canal cruises
    • Military heritage: Waterloo, Ieper, Battle of the Bulge
    • Spa Getaways, the city of Spa gave its name to all other spas

    NETWORK

    Brussels Airport has a very strong European network; with more than 120 destination in Europe, it is truly the gateway to Europe. On middle and long haul more than 80 destinations worldwide are offered, with an exceptional African network. With Brussels Airlines having become a member of Star Alliance, Brussels Airport will further develop as a Star Alliance gateway.

    FACILITIES

    BRU3

    • Runway capacity : 74 movements per hour (with room to grow to 80) and short taxi times
    • Reliability : among the most punctual airports in Europe
    • One terminal with Pier A & Pier B
    • 54 contact aircraft stands & 54 remote aircraft stands
    • 22 bus gates
    • 9 cargo aircraft stands at Brucargo

    UNSERVED ROUTES/KEY MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

    JNB (OR Tambo International Airport)

    BOS (Boston Logan International Airport)

    GRU (São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport)

    BOD (Bordeaux - Merignac Aeroport )

    IAH (Houston Intercontinental)

    NRT (Tokyo, Narita International Airport)

    BKK (Bangkok)

    SIN (Changi Airport Group)

    ICN (Seoul)

    SKP (Skopje Airport)

    TIA (Tirana International Airport)

    SCQ (Santiago De Compostela, Spain)

    GDN (Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport)

    LED (St Petersburg Pulkovo, Russia)

    NTE (Aeroport Nantes Atlantique)

    ORK (Cork Airport)

    BHD (Belfast City Airport)

    GLA (Glasgow)

    NUE (Nuremberg)

    DRS (Dresden)

    PERSONELLE

    Léon Verhallen - Head of Aviation Marketing

    Geert Van Dessel - Manager Aviation Marketing

    Maarten Evenepoel - Manager Aviation Marketing

    Didier Duponselle - Manager Cargo Marketing

    Betty van de Nobelen - Passenger Marketing Manager

    Inge Luyckx - Business Analyst Aviation Marketing

    Silke Devacht - Market Research Manager

    CONTACT

    E-mail : [email protected]

    Telnr +32-2-753 41 21

    Richard Maslen

    Richard Maslen has travelled across the globe to report on developments in the aviation sector as airlines and airports have continued to evolve and…