Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) wants a total ban on night flights from 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. for Zaventem airport. As expected, many political parties, concerned companies, and interest groups reacted sharply and negatively to Gilkinet’s striking proposal to do away with the 16 000-night flights that currently take off from Brussels Airport.

And only positive opinions can be heard from the environmental and nature umbrella organization Bond Beter Leefmilieu and the residents’ associations.

Problem file

Is it a political move, a sham, or a courageous proposal by the ‘green’ minister? The point is that Gilkinet will, in any case, put down his bold proposal by 21 July, but the chances of it being swept off the government table – even though the coalition agreement stated to do something about noise pollution – are high.

The dossier on noise pollution at Brussels Airport has been dragging on for years and is at a standstill because no consensus solution could be found between the various parties involved. This has led to many complaints and penalized the federal government 25 million euros.

Quota counts

With his proposal, Gilkinet wants to modernize the ‘quota counts’ (QC) system, the maximum noise level for each aircraft taking off and landing. Those standards have not been reviewed since 2009.

The decision aims to reduce the overall noise level by 20%: 100% silence during the night from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.; 30% more silence in the evening from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.; 20% more silence in the morning between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and 7% more silence during the day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The new QC are also different for weekdays, Sundays, and public holidays.

From winter 2024

The decision also provides individual values for each aircraft and annual maximum values. The Minister intends to introduce the new system in the winter 2024-2025.

“I do this in the general interest of all residents,” says Gilkinet, “regardless of whether they are Flemish, Brussels, or Walloon, and with respect for the economic interests of the airport and the 65 000 people who work there.”

According to Gilkinet, night flights account for as much as 49% of noise pollution at Brussels Airport. The Minister also points out that night restrictions are already in place at 126 airports without blocking economic activity or employment. He refers, for example, to Frankfurt, Europe’s leading cargo airport, and Amsterdam Schiphol, which have also banned night flights.

‘Without consultation’

In a reaction, Brussels Airport regrets that the federal Mobility Minister is launching a very far-reaching proposal with “unseen negative consequences for employment, connectivity, exports, and the country’s economy”. The airport says this is “without any consultation or coordination with the airport and the aviation sector”. The European procedure to impose operating restrictions is also not respected at all.

Remarkably, it also became known last week that the consultation between Brussels Airport and the consultation platform set up by the Minister had come to nothing. However, the Brussels Airport Company had announced that it would eliminate some 1 500 night flights a year.

Since 1 April, there are also new fares at Brussels Airport, according to aircraft noise, emissions, and flight distance. But Brussels Airlines and sister airlines Lufthansa and Swiss went to the Council of State against the new system of variable airfares.

And just Wednesday, the European environmental umbrella organization Transport & Environment (T&E) published a new report that states that if Belgium were to tax aviation ‘fairly’, this would yield 700 million euros for the state treasury.

‘Green madness’

Voka, the Flemish network of companies, also reacts sharply – “A crazy idea” – as do the majority parties Open Vld, MR, and CD&V. “Other-worldly and economic madness”, and “Green madness and regrowth in practice”, it sounds.

Transport economist Wouter Dewulf (Antwerpen) says in the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws that Gilkinet wants to show his supporters, one year before the elections, how far he dares to go. According to him, courier company DHL, which employs some 1 600 people, would be particularly affected, and he also warns that holidaymakers will also be affected because companies such as TUI fly very early. After all, it is cheaper to holiday destinations.

Milestone

The resident groups and Bond Beter Leefmilieu (BBL) react enthusiastically to the plans. They talk about “a milestone for the health of residents” and “a nice first step toward a sustainable and future-oriented management of our national airport”.

They think that if DHL can no longer operate its flights at night, it will not necessarily lead to a less attractive business model. “The delivery time of parcels simply shifts to later in the day. In return, the hundreds of thousands of residents get their sleep back, which translates into better performance at school and in the workplace, and an overall saving of 1 billion euros in health costs.”

Earlier this year, a study by ENV-ISA, commissioned by Bond Beter Leefmilieu, revealed that the health damage caused by night flights to and from Brussels Airport is enormous. More than 100 000 residents suffer from severe sleep disturbance due to night-time flight noise.