Belgian airports compared: Brussels, Charleroi, Liège, Antwerp and Ostend

How many passengers did each Belgian airport handle in 2025?

The Federal Public Service Mobility publishes each year the figures it receives from the operators of Belgium's six airports. Its page, updated on 26/10/2026, gives the following for 2025:

Brussels Airport is still below its 2019 level, while Charleroi is well above it. Kortrijk-Wevelgem has many aircraft movements but almost no passengers.

In February 2026 the press published slightly different figures, based on the airports' own data: 11.2 million for Charleroi, 240,500 for Antwerp and 138,000 for Liège, for a total close to 36.4 million, a record. For Antwerp, the ministry's 2025 line repeats its 2023 line to the passenger, so we show it as published but it needs checking.

Which airlines fly from each airport?

The five passenger airports serve very different travellers. Here is what we could check on 07/11/2026:

At Brussels Airport, Brussels Airlines describes itself as Belgium's home carrier, with more than 90 destinations from its hub. TUI fly Belgium now has its base there, and Transavia opened a full base this summer. Ryanair, on the other hand, keeps only Dublin there this winter, after dropping seven routes.

Charleroi and Brussels Airport play different roles

Charleroi relies on low-cost airlines and point-to-point flights. In our records of flights from 30 October to 9 November 2026, Wizz Air serves 16 cities, 8 of them in Romania, along with Tirana, Budapest, Warsaw, Chisinau and Skopje. Pegasus flies to Istanbul Sabiha and Air Corsica to Corsica. Ryanair covers most of the rest, and the full list is on our destinations page.

Brussels Airport is built around a network. The airport lists 40 non-stop intercontinental destinations this winter, and 14% of its departing passengers were transferring in 2025. Brussels Airlines serves 18 destinations in sub-Saharan Africa from there, according to the airline.

For a short flight to a city served by both airports, the choice becomes practical: journey, parking, times and strikes. We go through it point by point in Charleroi or Brussels Airport.

Can you still fly from Liège?

Not on a scheduled flight. TUI fly operated the last one, to Tangier, on 4 January 2026, citing a lack of profitability. airBaltic was due to bring flights back to Liège in late October 2026 with Gran Canaria and Tenerife, but dropped the plan in August for lack of demand, according to newmobility.news.

Liège is still a major airport, but for freight, which makes up more than 95% of its activity. The ministry counts 1,324,468 tonnes of goods there in 2025, against 685,124 tonnes at Brussels Airport.

Liège may see passengers again in 2028. While Charleroi closes to rebuild its runway, for about eleven weeks between mid-August and late October 2028, some flights are due to move to Liège or Brussels Airport and others to be suspended. The details are in our guide to the 2028 closure.

Antwerp and Ostend, two holiday airports

Ostend-Bruges passed 400,000 passengers in 2025: 404,076 according to the ministry, about 15% more than in 2024. For summer 2026, TUI fly announced 5.3% more capacity there, 13 destinations in Spain, Greece, Turkey and Egypt, and about 290,000 passengers expected from April to late October, according to Belga as reported by Paris Match.

At Antwerp, TUI fly ends all its flights at the end of March 2027. The last ones leave for Alicante on 24 March and for Malaga on 25 March 2027. The VRT explains that only the airline's 112-seat Embraers can use Antwerp's runway, as its 189-seat Boeings are too large. SkyAlps keeps one weekly flight to Bolzano.

Both airports' websites could not be reached on 07/11/2026, so we give no access details or times for them. Check them directly before booking.

How do you reach Brussels Airport and Charleroi by public transport?

The clearest difference is the railway station. Brussels Airport-Zaventem station sits directly beneath the terminal. The airport lists six direct trains an hour to Brussels, from early morning until around midnight, and direct trains from several cities:

A €6.90 surcharge applies to train journeys to the airport, and is often already included in the ticket price.

Charleroi has no station. The TEC A1 bus leaves Charleroi station every 15 minutes since July 2026, when TEC withdrew the A2 and A3 routes from Fleurus and Luttre. From Brussels-Midi, Flibco lists a departure every 20 minutes and a journey of about 55 minutes. All the details, including by car, are in our guide to getting to Charleroi Airport.