Brussels Airport in Zaventem provides 84,732 jobs across Belgium according to a KU Leuven study published on Friday.
The amount of people working in or around Brussels Airport has increased by 25% since 2017. The airport directly employs 29,835 people and indirectly creates 54,897 more posts, according to the study.
The report was commissioned by employment centre Aviato and constitutes the airport's first post-pandemic analysis.
The findings "confirm the importance of Brussels Airport as a strong job engine and the second most important economic growth pole in Belgium," said Airport CEO Arnaud Feist. "The airport community has recovered well after the pandemic and has not only been able to safeguard jobs, but is also growing again."
'Interregional' employment
Researchers stress the fact that 79% of positions are full-time roles, up from 72% in 2017. In addition, the figures are a "good example of interregional labour mobility," as jobs are being created in the Brussels-Capital Region, Wallonia and Flanders.
Employees hail from three "clusters". The aviation cluster includes air transport and handling and accounts for 31.5% of jobs. Other airport-related activities such as freight handling, warehousing, postal services, couriers, security and industrial cleaning and makes up 49.8%.
Finally, businesses within the airport account for 18.7% of jobs.
Since a colossal dip during the Covid-19 pandemic, European airport activity climbed at a fast rate, peaking at the "best summer ever" this year. "Our industry has now finally turned the corner," said ACI Europe Director-General Olivier Jankovec in July.
This commercial progress is against a backdrop of continuous strikes in Belgium. Workers at Charleroi Airport announced a spontaneous 24-hour strike on Thursday, pointing to a heavy workload and an "aggressive" management style.
