Brussels Airlines
| T034 | Key figures Brussels Airlines | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change in % | |||
| Revenue | in €m | 1,647 | 1,544 | 7 | |
| Operating income | in €m | 1,703 | 1,623 | 5 | |
| Operating expenses | in €m | 1,675 | 1,564 | 7 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | in €m | 128 | 177 | -28 | |
| Adjusted EBIT | in €m | 28 | 59 | -53 | |
| EBIT | in €m | 39 | 84 | -54 | |
| Adjusted EBIT margin | % | 1.7 | 3.8 | -2.1 pts | |
| Employees as of 31 Dec | number | 3,518 | 3,573 | -2 | |
| Average number of employees | number | 3,687 | 3,549 | 4 | |
| Number of flights | number | 68,540 | 61,564 | 11 | |
| Passengers | thousands | 9,156 | 8,360 | 10 | |
| Available seat-kilometres | millions | 19,797 | 18,332 | 8 | |
| Revenue seat-kilometres | millions | 16,157 | 15,155 | 7 | |
| Passenger load factor | % | 81.6 | 82.7 | -1.1 pts | |
Brussels Airlines is Belgium’s national airline. From its hub in Brussels, the airline offers flights to destinations worldwide, with a focus on the sub-Saharan Africa region.
Brussels Airlines expands its long-haul fleet
Brussels Airlines further expanded its long-haul fleet in the reporting year, adding its eleventh Airbus A330 in April 2025. The airline will use the additional long-haul capacity primarily to strengthen its route network in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim is to further develop Brussels as a European hub for flights to and from Africa.
Brussels Airlines added one new Airbus A320neo to its short-haul fleet. This means the airline had six aircraft of this type at year-end 2025. The A320neo fleet is to be expanded to a total of 13 aircraft by the end of 2028.
The Brussels Airlines fleet consisted of 47 aircraft at the end of the reporting year.
100 years of experience in Africa are a strategic growth driver
Brussels Airlines celebrated an important jubilee in February 2025: it was one hundred years ago that a pioneering flight connected Brussels with Kinshasa for the first time, laying the foundations for the airline’s strong presence on the African continent today. With 18 destinations in sub-Saharan Africa today and a larger long-haul fleet, Brussels Airlines is strengthening its market position and making a key contribution to the Group’s network diversification.
Changes in the Brussels Airlines Executive Board
Filip Aerts has been Chief Operating Officer at Brussels Airlines since 1 August 2025. He succeeds Tilman Reinshagen, who has left the Lufthansa Group. Filip Aerts was previously Head of Flight Operations at Brussels Airlines.
Traffic expanded during the reporting year
With 9.2 million passengers, Brussels Airlines carried 10% more customers in the reporting year than in the previous year (previous year: 8.4 million). Capacity increased by 8% year-on-year. Sales rose by 7%. The passenger load factor dropped by 1.1 percentage points to 81.6% (previous year: 82.7%). Yields were on a par with last year. Traffic revenue increased by 7% to EUR 1,578m (previous year: EUR 1,476m).
Revenue up by 7% year-on-year, Adjusted EBIT down to EUR 28m
Revenue at Brussels Airlines climbed by 7% to EUR 1,647m in the 2025 financial year due to higher traffic (previous year: EUR 1,544m). Operating income was up by 5% at EUR 1,703m (previous year: EUR 1,623m).
Operating expenses increased by 7% to EUR 1,675m (previous year: EUR 1,564m). Cost of materials and services exceeded the previous year’s figure by 9% (EUR +88m), mainly as a result of higher fees and charges (EUR +38m). Staff costs were 5% (EUR +11m) higher than in the previous year.
The Adjusted EBIT of Brussels Airlines fell by 53% to EUR 28m (previous year: EUR 59m). The previous year’s earnings were buoyed by non-recurring effects. Earnings in the reporting year were reduced by an estimated EUR 15m as a result of seven nationwide protest days in Belgium, which caused severe operating restrictions at Brussels Airport. No employees of Brussels Airlines took part in the protests. Several operational incidents affecting the long-haul fleet also had an impact on earnings. The Adjusted EBIT margin declined by 2.1 percentage points to 1.7% (previous year: 3.8%).
In the reporting year, EBIT of EUR 39m was down 54% on the previous year (previous year: EUR 84m). The difference compared with Adjusted EBIT is due primarily to book gains from the sale-and-lease-back of two Airbus A320neos.