Brussels Airport adds routes to China and Sweden for winter season
Brussels Airport will be directly connected to 135 destinations this winter, including two new routes to China and Sweden, it announced on Thursday. Czech airline Smartwings will also begin operations at the airport in Zaventem later this month
From 22 November, China’s Hainan Airlines will launch flights to Chongqing, in southwest China, three times per week. That will be Brussels Airport’s eighth Asian destination. Belgian carrier TUI fly will also add a new winter route to Sälen, a ski resort in central Sweden near the Norwegian border, starting 20 December.
Despite these additions, the airport’s winter network will cover fewer destinations than last year's 142. This is primarily because TUI fly has decided to end its long-haul flights from Zaventem, resulting in the removal of popular destinations such as Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Cancún in Mexico and Curaçao. Other destinations that have been dropped include Tromsø in Norway and Birmingham in the UK.
Additionally, the Czech carrier Smartwings will begin operations at Brussels Airport on 26 October, flying to Prague 12 times a week.
1.2 million passengers during autumn holidays
Looking ahead to the autumn holidays, Brussels Airport expects over 1.2 million passengers, an increase of 3.5 per cent compared to last year. The busiest day will be Friday, 24 October, when the holidays begin in Dutch-speaking schools, with around 82,000 passengers expected. About 78,000 travellers are anticipated on the first day of the French-speaking school holidays, this Friday.
The airport advises passengers to arrive two hours before Schengen flights and three hours before non-Schengen flights, and recommends booking parking spaces online in advance.
© BELGA PHOTO FREDERIK UREEL
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