Brussels cargo milestone harks back to its DHL Express hub days

Brussels Airport is on track to hit cargo volumes on par with the days when DHL Express had its European Hub based out of Brussels. On Dec. 7, Brussels Airport passed the milestone of 500,000 tonnes of flown cargo.

With an overall growth of more than 25 percent in flown volumes over the last four years, Steven Polmans, head of cargo and logistics at Brussels Airport, said that the latest figures are “symbolic milestone for us and our cargo community.”

“Since 2008, our volumes dropped under 500,000 tons of cargo and in 2013 we were even flirting with the 400,000 number,” Polmans said.

Brussels Airport said that its year-to-date volumes have grown by 9.5 percent, with the largest contribution coming from bellyhold cargo. This segment grew by 13 percent, followed by integrator traffic, up almost 10 percent, and traditional full freighter uplift, up 6.6 percent.

The airport forecasts total 2017 volumes to reach close to 700,000 tonnes of air cargo. Looking ahead, Brussels is expecting solid growth figures into next year.