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Antwerp International Airport sees 20% drop in passengers, 2025 unlikely to be a strong year

Posted by Timothy on

Antwerp International Airport in the Antwerp district of Deurne recorded a record number of passengers in the first half of last year, Gazet van Antwerpen reports. However, there was a sharp decline for the entire year as TUI Fly aircraft were grounded for more than two months. 2025 is also expected to be challenging for the airport.

The annual figures for 2024 at Antwerp Airport, as Luchthaven Deurne or Antwerp Flanders International Airport (on the website) brands itself, show a stark contrast between the first and second halves of the year. 

In the first six months of 2024, the airport saw a record 140,356 passengers, a 6.2% increase compared to the previous record year of 2019. According to Tom Rutsaert, spokesperson for Antwerp Airport, this was due to TUI Fly introducing larger aircraft at Deurne, with 136 seats instead of the previous 112. Additionally, the airline expanded its offerings with flights to Antalya in Turkey; Crete in Greece; Tenerife and Gran Canaria in Spain.

However, the situation changed in the second half of the year. TUI Fly experienced a shortage of spare parts for the Embraer E195-E2 aircraft used in Deurne, forcing the airline to relocate its flights to Brussels Airport in Zaventem from late July to early October. As a result, Antwerp Airport saw minimal activity for over two months, leading to a 20% drop in passenger numbers for the year, totalling 208,845.

Antwerp International Airport.

Outlook for 2025

The outlook for 2025 remains uncertain. TUI Fly had initially planned to resume flights from Deurne to Ibiza (Balearic Islands), Crete, Antalya, and Murcia in the eponymous region in April, but these have now been postponed until late June. 

According to TUI Fly spokesperson Piet Demeyere, this decision was made because summer bookings had already begun in September last year, when the airline was still uncertain whether the spare parts issue would be resolved. While the issue has since been resolved, the airline opted for caution at the time.

As TUI Fly is the only major airline operating at Deurne, passenger numbers in April, May, and June are expected to be lower than last year. The airline has no immediate plans to introduce new destinations from Deurne and is instead focusing on increasing the popularity of its routes to Albania and Montenegro from Brussels Airport. If additional flights are introduced at Deurne in the future, they will likely be to Spanish destinations, which consistently have an occupancy rate of over 90%.

New CEO of the Airport

The search for a new CEO at Antwerp Airport remains ongoing. In November, the airport unexpectedly parted ways with Bruno De Saegher after just three months in the role. His predecessor, Frenchman Eric Dumas, temporarily returned as CEO, stating in an internal communication that a permanent replacement would be found as soon as possible. 

Initially, the process was expected to conclude by the end of the first quarter of 2025, but sources within the airport now indicate that the new CEO may not be in place until the summer.

The recruitment process is being managed by Egis, the French company that operates Antwerp Airport, in collaboration with the airport’s management.

Antwerp International Airport