Brussels Region noise regulation: airlines may face fines of up to €682,000 on day one

Tonight from 00:00 till 7:00 (and from 23:00 till 7:00 on the following days), the Brussels region will fine overflying aircraft exceeding the nighttime noise limits².

Based on projections by newspaper De Tijd¹,  airlines might face likely fines comprised between €5,000 and 10,000 (€1,300-62,000 are the minimum/maximum). However it is unlikely that the fines will reach the maximum limit: Ryanair calculated its fines might be €6,000. Thomas Cook estimated they would be in the €1,200-2,000 range. And a flight scheduled at 06:50 will not reach Brussels before 07:00 and will thus avoid being fined, unless it exceeds the daytime limits.

Looking at tomorrow’s 11 flights before 07:00, following airlines will face a fine (x times a fine between brackets):

TUI fly (3) – Lufthansa (1) – Brussels Airlines (4) – KLM (1) – SWISS (1) – HOP! (1)

Fines might thus be between €55,000 and 110,000 in total (minimum €14,300- maximum €682,000)

(1) De Tijd uitgelegd: hoe hoog zijn de boetes

(2) – In zone 0 : day Lsp (7-23h) = 55 dB(A) / night Lsp (23-7h) = 45 dB(A)
– In zone 1 : day Lsp (7-23h) = 60 dB(A) / night Lsp (23-7h) = 50 dB(A)
– In zone 2 : day Lsp (7-23h) = 65 dB(A) / night Lsp (23-7h) = 55 dB(A)

Zone 2 is the extreme East of the Brussels Region, Zone 1 is a small area next to it, and Zone 0 covers the majority of the Region.