Belgium rises to third in EU air freight

Belgium became the European Union’s third-largest air freight market in 2025 as cargo volumes at its airports climbed by almost 13%, strengthening the country’s role as a gateway for e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, express parcels and time-sensitive industrial shipments.

More than two million tonnes of freight and mail passed through Belgian airports during the year, placing the country behind only Germany and France among the EU’s 27 member states. The performance was led by Liège Airport, one of Europe’s biggest dedicated cargo centres, and Brussels Airport, which combines freighter operations with goods carried in passenger aircraft.

The rise is notable because Belgium is smaller than many of the countries it overtook. Its position reflects the concentration of airports, motorways, ports, rail links, distribution warehouses and consumer markets within a compact geographical area at the centre of western Europe.

Liège Airport handled 1.325 million tonnes of cargo in 2025, up 14% from 1.163 million tonnes a year earlier. It recorded the strongest growth among Europe’s 10 largest cargo airports and delivered the second-highest annual volume in its history.

Cargo traffic at Liège has more than doubled over the past decade. The airport has built its business around full-freighter aircraft rather than passenger services, allowing it to operate schedules designed specifically for logistics companies.

Its freight portfolio includes perishable goods, medicines, medical equipment, humanitarian supplies, express consignments, online shopping parcels and live animals. The airport also added links to cities including Bogotá, São Paulo, Mexico City, Chicago, Oakland, Toronto, Nanjing, Chongqing, Mumbai and Taipei during 2025.

Liège had 56 airline customers at the end of the year, compared with 40 in 2023. The number of logistics operators increased from 37 to 62 over the same period, reducing the airport’s dependence on individual companies.

Its largest customer represented 13% of total cargo volume, while the next three accounted for 10%, 9% and 9%. Airport managers regard that distribution as an important safeguard against abrupt changes in airline strategy or international trade flows.

Cargo aircraft movements at Liège rose 6% to 28,822, while total aircraft movements remained broadly stable at 36,979. Daytime cargo flights accounted for 65.5% of operations, reflecting a gradual shift away from night services, which formed the majority of traffic five years earlier.

Brussels Airport handled 795,000 tonnes of cargo, an increase of 8.5%. Cargo flights rose by only 2.2%, indicating that operators transported more goods without a corresponding surge in aircraft movements.

A significant proportion of the Brussels total travelled in the holds of passenger aircraft. This belly cargo, particularly important on long-haul routes, increased by 9.2%. Express and urgent shipments grew by 22.3%, highlighting demand for rapid delivery networks and high-value logistics.

Belgium’s total commercial flight count, covering passenger and freight operations, rose 3.4% to 296,756 in 2025. That remained below the approximately 325,000 flights recorded in 2019, although freight volumes have expanded strongly as airlines use larger aircraft, improve load factors and concentrate cargo at specialised hubs.

The country’s air freight industry benefits from proximity to the ports of Antwerp-Bruges and Rotterdam, as well as major manufacturing and consumer regions in Germany, France and the Netherlands. Goods arriving by aircraft can be transferred rapidly to road, rail and maritime networks.

Pharmaceutical logistics have become an especially important segment. Belgium hosts a large life-sciences industry and has developed temperature-controlled infrastructure for vaccines, medicines and other sensitive products. Brussels Airport has positioned pharmaceutical handling as a core speciality, while Liège has expanded facilities for healthcare and humanitarian cargo.

E-commerce remains another major driver. Online retail shipments from Asia and other production centres have generated large parcel volumes, although tighter customs enforcement and planned changes to EU rules for low-value imports could alter cargo patterns.

European regulators are seeking greater scrutiny of small parcels because of concerns about product safety, counterfeit goods, undeclared values and the pressure placed on customs systems. Any reduction in direct-to-consumer shipments could affect airports heavily exposed to e-commerce, while creating opportunities for operators handling consolidated and fully documented cargo.