Last year, the Belgian air traffic control provider Skeyes handled 1,035,084 flights, an average of about 2,740 per day. With this total of over 1 million, it has returned to 2019 levels – pre-pandemic – for the first time.

Compared to 15 years ago, there are 20 times as many reports of safety-related incidents, but there have been no serious incidents. And the Department of Defense will undoubtedly have breathed a sigh of relief, as wildlife disruptions topped the list of air traffic safety incidents.

Nevertheless, there were 46 incidents involving unauthorized drones near airports and sensitive locations. That represents a significant increase compared to the previous year, when only 8 such incidents were reported. About half of the incidents occurred during a spike in November around, among other places, the airports of Zaventem, Ostend, and Liège, as well as various military bases.

4% more flights

The number of flights in Belgian airspace was 4% higher than in 2024, but air traffic is still 5% below pre-COVID-19 crisis levels: in 2019, skeyes handled nearly 1,1 million flights.

Most of the 1,035,084 flights of 2025 were handled by Canac 2 (606.210, +4%), the air traffic control center in Steenokkerzeel that manages overflying and approaching air traffic up to an altitude of 7,500 meters (24,500 feet). Next are Brussels Airport (204,151, +3%), Charleroi (96,354, +5%), Liège (39,265, -3%), Antwerp (32,130, +1%), and Ostend (23,041, +21%).

More incident reports

In 2025, there were also 2,029 incident reports, of which 1,903 were analyzed and recorded as safety-related incidents. However, 75% of the confirmed incidents fall into Category E, meaning they had no impact on safety.

Overall, there were more reports compared to 2024, but no serious incidents (Category A or B) occurred in 2025. Skeyes emphasizes that there are 20 times as many reports of safety-related incidents as there were 15 years ago.

However, 4 of the 5 most frequently reported incident types in 2025 are not directly related to Skeyes’ own operations and are therefore attributable to external factors. Disruptions caused by wildlife topped the list of traffic safety incidents.

And here’s another striking figure: At Brussels Airport, the average delay per flight is 0,77 minutes (6,2 seconds on arrival), but 96,8% of the causes of delays in 2025 fall outside Skeyes’s area of responsibility.

A first: Level 4 GreenATM certification

Skeyes is also the first air traffic management service provider in the world to receive Level 4 GreenATM certification from CANSO, the global umbrella organization for air traffic management services.

The program was launched in 2022 and provides an independent assessment of air traffic management service providers’ efforts to reduce their environmental impact.

Thanks to improved flight procedures, better operational information, and strong cooperation with partners, for example, Skeyes is making a meaningful contribution to helping aircraft in its airspace reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

For example, skeyes is strongly committed to Green Landings (CDO – Continuous Descent Operations), a landing technique in which the aircraft descends continuously toward the runway with minimal engine power, without any pauses that require the pilot to repeatedly increase throttle.

This saves a significant amount of fuel and reduces both CO2 emissions and noise. In 2025, 80% (+1%) of landings at Brussels Airport followed this procedure.

Looking for air traffic controllers

A total of 1,006 people work at Skeyes. Last year, 15 newly trained air traffic controllers joined the operational team after 960 days of training. Skeyes is also launching a new selection process for air traffic controllers.

Interested candidates must be between 18 and 30 years old and can apply starting August 31. Skeyes receives about 700 to 750 applications.