‘07 Rechtdoor’ flight trajectories at Brussels Airport adapted by 31 March 2016

Today, Belgocontrol received the instruction to adapt the so-called ‘07 Rechtdoor’ flight trajectories. The air traffic service provider immediately pulls out all the stops to meet the designated deadline.

Early May the Brussels Court of First Instance decided in preliminary relief proceedings that the south-westbound departure routes from runways 07R and 07L, as they have been used since 6 March 2014, will have to be cancelled. Today the federal government gave Belgocontrol the instruction to take the necessary steps in that direction.

Belgocontrol had already asked to take into account the elaborate procedure to adapt the trajectories. The process requires at least 30 weeks and such was also the case with applying the moratorium above Brussels. Belgocontrol estimates it will necessitate about 39 weeks to modify the ‘07 Rechtdoor’ trajectories. Therefore the deadline of 31 March 2016 is seen as feasible.

More time is needed for those trajectories because not only the departure routes but also the air traffic controllers’ whole working method for managing arrivals and departures has to be modified (in order to e.g. separate aircraft vertically). The air traffic controllers have to receive additional training to master the new working methods.
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