Brussels Airport posts record profit for 2024

Brussels Airport Company, the operator of Zaventem airport, has announced that 2024 was a record year for annual turnover and operating profit.

However, when announcing its annual results, the company made clear that, for the sixth year in a row, no dividend will be paid to shareholders.

There were about 10% fewer passengers seen at the airport last year (23.6 million) than in the record pre-Covid year of 2019, when 26.4 million passengers walked through the doors. Nevertheless, BAC achieved a record turnover for the second year in a row – €784 million, 11% more than in 2023.

The airport company attributed the growth to a 6% annual increase in passenger numbers. In addition, 733,000 tonnes of cargo were handled (+5%). Costs also went up by 8% to €576 million, “partly due to high indexations, increased air traffic, new facilities and high security costs”, the airport company said.

Operating profit came in at €207 million, higher than the previous €200 million record achieved in 2019. Net profit was €91 million, some 50% more than for 2023, although not a record.

As in previous years, BAC shareholders, including the Belgian state, will not receive a dividend – a payment made by a company to its shareholders from its profits. The choice was made “to consolidate BAC’s financial strength and to finance future investments,” the company said.

Meanwhile the airport operator has also announced what it describes as “the largest investment in the past 30 years”.

Some €500 million will be invested until 2032, to accommodate the expected passenger increase to 32 million. The plans include a new intermodal hub, an expansion of the departures and arrivals halls, a new hotel and a new car drop-off zone.

In 2024, €255 million was invested. This money was allocated to, among other things, new buildings in the Brucargo cargo zone, a new parking building, the renovation of a runway, passenger bridges and the replacement of the fire detection system.

Arnaud Feist, chief executive of Brussels Airport Company since 2010, has been reappointed for a further period of six years.