Belgium ranked as the EU's third-largest country for air freight in 2025, overtaking several larger member states as cargo volumes rose sharply, according to figures published by Statbel on Thursday.
More than two million tonnes of freight and mail passed through Belgian airports last year, an increase of almost 13% compared with 2024.
Only Germany, with 4.8 million tonnes, and France, with 2.2 million tonnes, handled more air cargo. Belgium, driven primarily by Liège Airport and Brucargo at Brussels Airport, ranked ahead of the Netherlands (1.4 million tonnes), Spain (1.3 million tonnes) and Italy (1.2 million tonnes).
Passenger traffic also reached a record high, with just over 36 million travellers using Belgian airports in 2025, up 3.6% from the previous year. The figure surpassed the pre-pandemic record of 35.5 million passengers set in 2019 and placed Belgium 12th among EU member states for passenger traffic.
Across the European Union, more than one billion passengers travelled through airports last year, with Spain, Germany, Italy and France recording the highest passenger volumes.
