Belgium’s €25 million penalty price tag for aircraft noise around Brussels Airport

In recent years, the Belgian Federal Government paid €25 million in penalties for noise pollution caused by air traffic around Brussels Airport, Belgium. After a court ruling, the money went to the Brussels Region (€13 million), five Flemish municipalities (€3.2 million) and residents of the eastern part of Brussels (€9.5 million). Only in Belgium: while noise pollution is a regional competence, aircraft routes are a federal competence. Therefore, the Federal Government has to pay every fine. A study by the Belgian newspaper De Standaard revealed the news. 

Since May 2021, Belgium has been paying €50,000 per week to five Flemish municipalities: Grimbergen, Machelen, Meise, Vilvoorde and Wemmel. The municipalities were proven right by the court, after a complaint about aircraft noise pollution.

After the verdict, the departure and arrival routes had to be adjusted to reduce the nuisance, but that did not happen. Today, the same number of aircraft still fly over the five municipalities as five years ago. The government must therefore pay a weekly penalty. A total of 3.2 million euros has already been paid out.

Last week, a new penalty of €1.2 million arrived at the office of Belgian Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), who immediately appealed the fine.

Mayor of Meise Gerda Van den Brande (N-VA) says that the municipalities are not interested in the money. “We are certainly not aiming for that. We do want a fair distribution of noise pollution. It is already slightly better than a few years ago, but there are still a lot of them flying over our municipality.”

Van den Brande points out that noise pollution has a negative effect on health. “That’s mainly because it disturbs sleep, even without you realizing it. That’s very bad for your health.”

Since 2019, the Federal Government has also paid 13 million euros in penalty payments to the Brussels Region. The result of another verdict.

313 individual residents of the eastern periphery of Brussels were proven right by the court in yet another lawsuit. They were paid 9.5 million euros.

In total, there are three judgments in which the Federal Government was proved wrong.

In a statement, Minister Gilkinet says that it is a “complex and sensitive dossier” and “a legacy from the past“. According to Gilkinet, shifting flight routes is not a sustainable solution. The nuisance then shifts to other municipalities, which in turn go to court. That way you keep running in circles.

“I will therefore soon be coming up with new proposals and a legal framework for more sleep for the local residents,” says Gilkinet. “Brussels Airport should not become Europe’s noise garbage can.”

That new legal framework — also known as the vliegwet (aviation law) — will not immediately solve all problems. It must first be approved by the Federal Parliament, and that will take time. A compromise must be found between the various parties involved. This compromise isn’t there at the moment.

In the past two years, there have been consultations between various parties involved. The final report of that meeting will be published tomorrow.

Source: ‘Onwettige’ vliegroutes kosten België al 25 miljoen euro aan dwangsommen (De Standaard)