For Air Cargo Management, Geert Aerts, chief cargo and real estate officer at Brussels Airport, tells us about the airport’s growing popularity as a key hub for perishables shipments and how digitalisation is playing a role in enabling smooth and reliable processes.
Brussels Airport is one of the most important airports in Europe, offering a leading cargo platform that is specialised in the transportation of pharmaceuticals and life sciences, perishable goods, e-commerce and live animals.
With offering 64,000 direct and indirect jobs, the airport is the second most important economic engine in Belgium.
Over recent years, the airport has become one of the preferred pharma and life sciences hubs in Europe thanks to its large surface area of temperature-controlled warehouses which are supported by digital solutions, offering efficient connections with other major airports and direct access to a dense road network.
The airport has also grown to become a key hub for flower shipments; in 2023 it registered 701,000 tonnes of flown flower volumes, outperforming other European airports.
A smooth and transparent perishables journey from A to Z
Located in the heart of Europe, the largest target market for flowers, Brussels Airport is an ideal gateway to transport perishables produce.
With specialised partners and innovative solutions, there is a continued focus on quality and efficiency for these time- and temperature-sensitive products.
One of the most innovative and effective solutions is the Perishable Management App (PMA), that we have developed together with Air Cargo Belgium in collaboration with the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) and forwarders present at Brussels Airport.
The PMA allows all parties involved in perishable goods inspection activity to work fully integrated during the import inspection process.
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The solution enables the replacement of a paper trail by a digital process, centralising all required documents and information. Flight data is integrated enabling each involved party to improve their planning, increasing efficiency during the inspection process, and facilitating communication between each involved party. This ensures minimum time wastage and therefore produce waste is lessened.
Special attention has also been placed on all transport segments when airport buildings have been developed or renovated. Four ground handlers handle the goods after unloading the aircraft, who all have refrigerated/freezer cells and/or a federal approved inspection centre. This wide offering ensures perfect handling regardless of which airline the cargo arrives on.
Furthermore, there is a large forwarder and customs agent community specialised in the import and export of perishables goods, making Brussels Airport the ideal gateway in or out of Europe.
A growing network connecting Europe to the world
Alongside a strong passenger network offering belly capacity on intercontinental flights to, for example, the large Africa network of Brussels Airlines, Brussels Airport welcomes many cargo airlines and we have recently added several new routes.
To the west, LATAM Cargo links Brussels Airport to an array of vibrant South American countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. This vital corridor transports cargo such as pharmaceuticals, machine parts and automotive components while the return flights bring back flowers bound for the European and Asian markets.
Closer to home, from the Faroe Islands, the airport accommodates almost daily flights by FarCargo, delivering tonnes of premium salmon, leveraging Brussels Airport’s extensive network of carriers to distribute their prized catch worldwide.
There are also more new connections on the horizon as we’ll be welcoming two new carriers from the east; more information about those will soon be released as we prepare to extend a warm Brussels welcome to our newest partners.
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Top-notch logistics real estate
Brussels Airport strives to deliver state-of-the-art logistic facilities catering to the needs of its partners.
In the past years, some of our achievements include Brucargo West, a 50,000 sqm facility with offices and temperature-controlled warehouses and the Animal Care and Inspection Center (ACIC).
This ACIC has received the coveted IATA Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Live Animals Certificate which was an important recognition of the investments we made to provide this top-notch facility and service.
Currently, the redevelopment of Brucargo Central is ongoing, an 83,500 sqm area located in the heart of the cargo zone, at an investment of €70 million. Three new buildings will be completed offering offices and warehouses to five partners already present at Brussels Airport, of which one is DSV.
DSV is a global logistics leader and has been expanding its operations at Brucargo over the last couple of years, shipping the largest volumes of perishables at our airport.
With the new facility, DSV can increase its warehouse space and continue its growth. The project will be completed in line with the sustainable development strategy of Brussels Airport aiming for net zero carbon, with a BREEAM-Excellent certification.
A sustainable future for air cargo
This real estate approach fits perfectly within the sustainability strategy of Brussels Airport.
Sustainability is a strategic priority for Brussels Airport. With our European Green Deal project ‘Stargate’, we work with a consortium of 21 partners on approximately 30 projects to make aviation and airports greener and more sustainable.
For cargo, this includes the introduction of electric ground handling equipment and the further development of digital solutions aimed at lowering waiting times and reducing paper use.
We are committed to continually working with our community partners and Air Cargo Belgium on a sustainable future for the aviation and air cargo industry.