Almost half a million flew from Charleroi in January

Brussels South Charleroi Airport saw a 7% year-on-year rise in passenger numbers in January, with almost half a million people using the terminal.

Flights were on average 80% full, with routes to southern Europe remaining the most popular, the airport said. Italy was the number one destination in January, followed by Spain, France, Morocco and Poland.

Chief executive Jean-Jacques Cloquet said: "After a year in 2016 when we redoubled our efforts to achieve the record results we have now seen, January 2017 closed on a positive note. Charleroi certainly has excellent prospects."

This year Air Corsica will launch new routes from Charleroi to Ajaccio and Bastia, ad TUI fly will open six new routes for the summer. Last year, 7.3 million passengers used Charleroi airport.