Local politicians have tried to solve the problem by asking for — and sometimes getting — flight paths rerouted so that planes bother neighbors instead of their constituents, but this only diverts the issue instead of addressing it.
Recently, 13 local NGOs formed a coalition to lobby for changes to air traffic, including a ban on night flights.
When it comes to aircraft noise in the Brussels area, “there’s a lot of NIMBY [not in my backyard] pressure,” while “the impact of noise should be assessed much more from the perspective of the entire community around the airport,” said Jos Jonckers, representative of the NGO Sterrebeek 2000, representing a Flemish community next to the airport.
According to a recent report by Belgium’s Superior Health Council, “some 160,000 people are at increased risk from exposure to excessive noise levels,” around Brussels Airport, which can lead to “sleep disorders, learning difficulties, high blood pressure and depression.”
In 2022, more than 16,000 flights took off or landed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., when most cargo flights — which carry goods, not people — are taken, with older, noisier planes using cheaper nighttime slots. The number dropped last year and is expected to decrease further next year, Brussels Airport said in a press release.
According to Brussels Airport spokesperson Ihsane Chioua Lekhli, “the airport’s noise impact has already decreased significantly, by 57 percent between 2000 and 2019,” and “the number of potentially highly impacted people in the vicinity of the airport will decrease further by 12 percent in the coming years” thanks to new technologies.
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