Brussels Airlines expects nearly 2 million passengers in July and August, the airline reports. That’s 600,000 more than a year earlier. To cope with this influx of passengers, the Lufthansa subsidiary will deploy a fleet of 50 aircraft, or six more than last year.
Among other things, Brussels Airlines is adding an extra Airbus 320 for short- and medium-haul flights and an Airbus 330 for long-haul flights. Additionally, four Airbus A220 aircraft will be deployed through our wet-lease partner, Air Baltic, which operates flights on behalf of Brussels Airlines.
Students as cabin crew
To handle the rush, 300 extra employees have been hired. For the first time, the airline is also working with students as cabin crew. Forty-seven students were recruited and underwent the same selection process and training as all other crew members.
Furthermore, Brussels Airlines is doubling the capacity at the baggage drop-off in the Brussels Airport departure hall, allowing luggage checked in online to be dropped off quickly.
Spain most popular
As far as holiday destinations are concerned, Spain remains the undisputed favorite, followed by Greece and Italy. Brussels Airlines serves no less than 12 destinations in Spain, including Malaga, Barcelona, and Alicante.
However, in these popular holiday destinations, the effects of mass tourism are annoying, for example, because the ever-increasing number of foreign visitors means that people on low incomes can barely afford to buy a house due to the steep rise in prices caused by the conversion of housing into holiday homes.
Furthermore, there has also been a significant increase in the number of travelers to Porto. On the long-haul network, New York and Kinshasa are the most popular destinations.
Almost no flights on Wednesday
One more thing: Brussels Airport also expects a significant impact on Wednesday due to a union rally, as many security workers are participating in the National Day of Action against the federal government’s policies.
So, it has cancelled 85% of all its flights on June 25th. Thirty flights will proceed; however, these are primarily return flights to Brussels. The changes cost the airline up to € 4 million. Charleroi Airport is also cancelling all flights on June 25th.
