Christmas holidays 2023: Brussels Airlines expects 300.000 passengers

The end of the year holidays begin today. Brussels Airlines expects to carry almost 300.000 passengers in the next two weeks. Long-haul flights in particular are very popular with an average load factor of 87,2%.

Today is the busiest day of the entire holiday season with over 24.000 passengers booked on Brussels Airlines flights. The second busiest day of the New Year is Friday, December 29th, with over 21.000 passengers. It's clear that people want to be at home or at their destination over the holidays, as December 24th and 31st are the least popular travel days, with 11 and 000 passengers respectively.

Over 228.000 passengers will travel on the short and medium-haul network. Rome is the most popular destination for passengers starting their journey in Brussels, followed by Malaga, Barcelona and Vienna. Almost 68.000 passengers are welcomed on long-haul flights. Although numerically in the minority, the load factor on long-haul flights is above average at 87,2%.

Brussels Airlines will announce its 2023 results in early March. However, the airline can already confirm that solid black figures are expected, which would mark the end of three financially turbulent years for the Belgian airline. A historic moment for Brussels Airlines in 2023 was undoubtedly the arrival of the Airbus A320neo. It was the first aircraft of this type in the Brussels Airlines fleet, and it was also the first time that Brussels Airlines was able to take delivery of a brand new aircraft. In the meantime, another A320neo was added to the fleet.