As non-essential journeys are allowed again, and flights resumed from Monday, Brussels Airport expects over one million passengers this summer.
On Monday 15 June -the first day that flights resumed- the airport expects around 4,000 passengers, a number that they expect to gradually increase until they reach 14,000 passengers on 1 July, with 9,000 of them on departure.
"We will operate more than 60 flights during the day, and there are many sunny destinations for those who want to go on holiday," said Arnaud Feist, CEO Brussels Airport, on radio channel La Première.
From 15 June, passengers can travel via Brussels Airport to 36 direct destinations, which will be more than 100 in July and around 130 from 1 August.
For the time being, these are mainly destinations within the Schengen zone, and include the classic holiday countries such as Italy, Portugal, France, Croatia, Greece and Spain.
More North African and intercontinental destinations will also be served soon, according to the airport.
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"In June, we will be at 10% of normal activity and we estimate to reach 15% or 20% during the summer," said Feist. "The return to 100% will not happen before 2021 or 2022, or even later. It will depend on whether Belgians want to travel for business or for holidays," he added.
For the months of July and August, the airport expects to welcome more than 1 million passengers, which is only 20% of the number of passengers in the same period last year.
"However, these are preliminary figures, as a lot of people are still planning their holidays, now that the offer for this summer is known and airlines are also confirming their flight schedules," according to the airport.
To guarantee a safe journey, Brussels Airports has implemented temperature checks before departure, the mandatory wearing of face masks, and has installed infrastructure for hand hygiene and the hygiene of the infrastructure.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
