The Flemish government is invoking a conflict of interest regarding federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) ‘s decision to prevent parcel company DHL from landing or taking off in Zaventem with Boeing 777 aircraft.
According to Gilkinet, DHL does not comply with night-time noise standards. In turn, Flemish Periphery Minister Ben Weyts (N-VA) says Gilkinet distributed the new instruction “secretly”.
Not conform to noise standards
According to Weyts, the Boeing 777 aircraft DHL uses in Zaventem are “relatively large planes” that can fly more quietly because DHL does not have to load them completely full.
This limited noise pollution, even though the Boeing 777 is an aircraft that does not meet noise standards. But “because they do involve large aircraft, for the past ten years, there was an exception for DHL in the regulations for night flights,” the Minister stressed.
Still, according to Weyts, a few days after the June elections, Gilkinet “surreptitiously” distributed an instruction lifting DHL’s exemption. As a result, DHL is no longer allowed to operate night flights with the Boeing 777 at Brussels Airport.
Today, DHL performs about 35 monthly flight movements with the Boeing 777 at Brussels Airport. Four times a week, the aircraft lands around 8 p.m. and takes off again around 11:30 p.m.
By necessity, DHL would have to replace the Boeing 777 with an Airbus A300. The A300 is a smaller aircraft, so it must be fully loaded. Weyts says the noise pollution from that type of night flight could be 60% higher.
60 days of consultation
Minister Weyts has asked the Flemish government to invoke a conflict of interest against the instruction. A conflict of interest is a formal conflict between different entities of the country where one of the entities feels that its interests are seriously harmed by the actions of another entity. When an entity invokes a conflict of interest, the challenged measures are suspended for 60 days for consultation.
Federal Minister Gilkinet, in turn, refers to a May 2004 ministerial decision on noise pollution at Brussels Airport. This shows that aircraft whose noise quota exceeds 8 are not authorized to land at night. “However, the official noise quota of the Boeing 777 widebody aircraft used by DHL is 10.7,” Gilkinet stresses.
According to Gilkinet, regular meetings with his cabinet and DHL’s top management have been taking place since 2021 so that the parcel company can make concrete proposals to operate according to the valid legal framework and reduce noise pollution for those living near the airport.
The Minister regretted that DHL had not made a serious proposal, “while the company is already using other types of less noisy aircraft.” The situation had to be rectified, according to the Ecolo minister, which is why he passed on July 24, 2023, and not right after the June elections, “an instruction to apply the regulation in force”.
Parliamentary Committee
Commenting, DHL said that the Boeing 777 aircraft are the most modern and quietest cargo planes available on the global market today. Other aircraft cause more inconvenience to residents.
“If DHL can no longer operate flights with Boeing B777 aircraft from Brussels Airport during the operational night, we would be forced to use other, less modern aircraft that would indeed cause more inconvenience to residents,” spokesperson Lorenzo Van de Pol responded.
Aerologic, a company co-owned by DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo, claims an unofficial noise Quota Count of 7.7, calculated based on a maximum weight of 313 tons.
At the request of Vlaams Belang, the Parliamentary Committee on Mobility will meet early to discuss the issue. Frank Troosters, the far-right party, is the chairman of this committee.
Worrying health figures
In Belgium, the Federal Government is responsible for the noise levels emitted by aircraft. The Regions are responsible for emission standards, i.e., the limits of perceived noise.
In June last year, Gilkinet announced that he wanted a total ban on night flights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for Zaventem airport, a plan that caused turbulence. IATA also shot down the plan. However, the Belgian High Health Council also called for a ban on night flights at Brussels Airport.
At the end of March 2024, Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) delivered an indefinite environmental permit to Brussels Airport. The permit contains several conditions, but a night-flight ban is not among them.
According to the European Commission, 22 million people in Europe have “chronic high annoyance” because of environmental noise, including from planes. Noise pollution is the second-biggest environmental cause of health troubles after air contamination, according to the World Health Organization.
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