Swissair and its sister airline, Sabena, have revealed a substantial increase in passengers travelling from the UAE to Belgium.
Dubai achieved the highest growth in the number of UAE travellers to Belgium with a 53 per cent rise since 1999, while Abu Dhabi witnessed a 24 per cent increase. Of the total, 22 per cent flew with Swissair, compared to 16 per cent in 1999. "We are very pleased not only to reveal such a large increase in UAE passengers visiting Belgium last year, but also that so many more of them have enjoyed Swissair's excellent service to this wonderful country," said Richard Castle, marketing manager, Middle East and North Africa, Swissair/Sabena. "With 12 weekly flights from the UAE and seven daily flights from Zurich to Brussels, Swissair and Sabena offer one of the quickest routes, ensuring some of the earliest arrival times in Belgium from across the Middle East. "This strong growth in passengers travelling to Belgium over the past two years is testament to the fact that the country is becoming a very popular leisure destination for Middle East travellers. "In fact 60 per cent of all passengers flying to Brussels travel during July and August and many of these are UAE nationals." Famous for diamonds, chocolate and waffles, Belgium attracts over 5,000 visitors from the UAE every year, many of whom own properties in the country. Swissair and Sabena, Belgium's national carrier, currently operate a total of 35 flights to Zurich and Brussels from Cairo, Beirut, Riyadh, Jeddah, Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.