Zaventem (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The federal government should modify air traffic routes going above Brussels Airport to stay at Zaventem’s national airport. The Brussels Court of Appeal made this decision in a recent judicial determination.
The Brussels Court of Appeal has demanded that the federal government change the flight paths which operate above Zaventem’s Brussels Airport. This judicial action results from continuing legal conflict about aircraft-operated noise pollution in the area.
The court established that the present flight route system generates disproportionate noise pollution, primarily impacting Wemmel, Grimbergen, Vilvoorde, Meise, Machelen and other municipalities near Brussels’ northern border. Public health protection requires the federal government to direct two years toward repositioning flight routes to minimise aircraft noise pollution.
According to the court’s decision, none of the stated penalty payments applied immediately, but sanctions remain possible in case future orders are not executed.
The court gave the government two years to establish a new organisation for flight routes. It does rule that the government does not have to pay penalty payments, partly because “the penalty payments imposed by the first judge have apparently had no effect”. “A penalty payment can be linked to current court orders at a later stage”, according to the court.
Walter Vansteenkiste, mayor of Wemmel and former chairman of Platform Luchthavenregio, responded with satisfaction to the ruling.
“We regret that no penalty payments were imposed because they could serve as additional pressure,”
says Vansteenkiste.
“But the most important thing is that the judge once again ruled in our favour. Even though the government has not implemented previous rulings, we continue to believe that it will respect the rule of law.”
What is the background of Brussels Airport?
Brussels Airport operates as Belgium‘s principal international airport in Zaventem, where both passengers and cargo are used as essential connection points. During World War I, German troops built an airship hangar, which stands at the beginning of the airport’s history at Haren and Evere.
The Belgian military used the site after the war, before civil aviation started developing, while coexisting with military activities. In 1940, during World War II, the German occupying force established “Fliegerhorst Melsbroek” on 600 hectares of agricultural land, constructing three runways that form the basis of the airport’s current infrastructure.
The Belgian authorities transformed the former site into a national airport in 1944 and conducted substantial building projects to construct terminals and runways during the late 1940s and 1950s.
The airport has experienced successive modernisation upgrades from the moment it first opened. The railway service connecting the city centre of Brussels to the airport opened its doors in 1955. The Zaventem terminal, which serves passengers, opened its doors in 1958, during the same year that the Brussels World Fair (Expo 58) took place. The Melsbroek Air Base, operating next to the facility, maintains joint airspace access with Brussels Airport.
