When Ethiopian Airlines Cargo moved its cargo operations from Brussels Airport (BRU) to Masstricht-Aachen in the Netherlands in November 2015, BRU felt the pain almost immediately. But thanks to an amendment of the bilateral agreement between Belgium and Ethiopia, the Belgian federal government said it is open to the possibility of cargo once again being transported by Ethiopian Airlines via Brussels
Ethiopian Cargo moved from BRU to Masstricht-Aachen because of the Belgian government’s delay in responding to the carrier’s request for an extension of fifth-freedom traffic rights. Ethiopian wanted the option to fly onward to Dubai World Central, Hong-Kong Chek Lap Kok and Shanghai Pudong. Brussels Airport is consulting with Ethiopian Airlines about a potential return, BRU said in a statement.
The loss of of Ethiopian Cargo at BRU was significant. January saw a 2.4 percent decline in cargo demand compared to January 2015, which was attributed to an 11.5 percent loss in the full-freight segment.
In February, total cargo volume at BRU dropped 1.8 percent year-over-year. Brussels Airport said the decline was kept low due to leap day, which accounted for 3 percent of the total volume for the month. Belly cargo rose by 4.3 percent, with integrator business rising 2.9 percent year-over-year for February. Full freighter volume dropped 14.5 percent year-over-year from 11,355 tonnes in 2015 to 9,710 tonnes in 2016, which BRU said was “entirely due to the departure of Ethiopian Cargo.”