Wednesday, 15 January 2025
By The Brussels Times with Belga
The control tower at Brussels Airport Zaventem. Credit: Belga
Brussels Airport in Zaventem will not be able to meet the noise pollution standards set by the Flemish environmental permit in the coming years, the airport’s CEO Arnaud Feist told De Tijd on Wednesday.
“We want to minimise the impact of flights on local residents as much as possible, but the established targets are not realistic,” said Feist. “These goals can only be achieved with new aircraft, but both Boeing and Airbus are facing significant delays in delivering new planes.”
The American and French manufacturers have encountered supply chain disruptions during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, preventing the assembly and delivery of aircraft.
Last March, Brussels Airport received an indefinite environmental permit from the then Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA).
Night flights are not banned at the national airport, but it must reduce nighttime disturbances by at least 30% by 2032. This reduction must be achieved by imposing increasingly strict noise standards for weekend flights from 2026.
Additionally, Boeing and Airbus’ production issues are hampering airline growth and, by extension, airport growth. “There are not enough aircraft on the market, which limits growth, especially intercontinental, even though we have the capacity to grow further,” Feist told L’Echo.
Nonetheless, the national airport recorded a 6.4% increase in passenger numbers, reaching 23.6 million, and a 5% rise in cargo (733,000 tonnes), according to economic reports.
Source: https://www.brusselstimes.com/brussels/1394036/brussels-airport-will-not-be-able-to-meet-noise-standards