Brussels Airport saw cargo volumes continue its growth trajectory in August, up 35 percent compared to the same month last year, as new routes from Asia led to 40 percent growth in its full freighter segment.

Brussels recorded growth in all three segments during the month. Aside from full freighters, integrator services (up 17 percent) and freight transport on passenger flights (up 76 percent) saw more cargo volume year on year at airport, with trucked cargo also seeing increased tonnage. As a pharma air hub, the airport said it has handled more than 300 million vaccines at the European gateway.

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Although the volume carried on passenger flights remains 33 percent lower than the traffic seen in August 2019, the airport expects the growth trend to remain in the months ahead due to huge demand for air freight capacity.

The number of cargo flights (full freighter and integrator services) was up 18.4 percent in August year on year. Brussels Airport said  the share of cargo-only passenger flights remained stable in August and remain necessary due to huge demand for cargo capacity and the need for vaccine transport. Talking about the growth of its full freighter operations, the airport says Asia remains the most important region, followed by North America and Africa.