The government is therefore requesting that this impact study be reviewed and completed “so as to take account of the overflight of Walloon territory, in order to reduce the negative impact on citizens, particularly in terms of noise”.

It also calls for runway 01 not to be upgraded to increase its capacity, and for Wallonia, the communes and associations affected by overflights from Brussels Airport to be more closely involved in discussions about the airport and the nuisance it causes. The Walloon government would also like to see an independent noise control authority set up for Brussels-National, as is the case in Wallonia, although this is a matter for the federal government.

The airport’s current permit expires next July. In order to continue operating the site, Brussels Airport Company has applied to the Flemish Region to renew its environmental permit. The impact study accompanying this application is based on a development scenario to 2032 including a doubling of air freight and a 21% increase in passenger numbers compared with 2019, corresponding to an increase from 234,000 to 240,000 air movements per year.

In March 2023, Walloon Environment Minister Céline Tellier asked her Flemish counterpart, Zuhal Demir, to consult the Walloon Region on this issue, so that Walloon citizens directly affected by the noise generated by the airport could also have their say.

In the end, a wide-ranging consultation was organized with the 19 Walloon municipalities concerned, who were asked to organize public inquiries on their territory. All notices received will be forwarded to Flanders, added Céline Tellier. “The nuisance generated by Zaventem airport does not stop at the borders of Flanders. It was therefore important that Walloon citizens living in the communes of Walloon Brabant overflown by these aircraft should be able to make their voices heard in this matter, despite the short deadlines imposed by the Flemish Region. Their concerns will be fully relayed, in addition to the opinion of the Walloon government”, she concluded.

Wallonia’s opinion is in line with that of the Brussels government, which also expressed its views on the matter on Thursday. “The application for renewal of the permit and the accompanying impact study are totally inadequate, particularly as regards assessment of the airport’s environmental impact. No measures have been taken to reduce the nuisance caused by air traffic, at a time when it is high time to protect the health and well-being of local residents”, commented Alain Maron, Brussels Minister for the Environment, on behalf of the regional government.

The application for renewal of the environmental permit for Brussels National Airport, put out to public inquiry by the Flemish Region, is deficient in terms of the assessment of air traffic nuisance, judged the Brussels government, meeting on Thursday, in the opinion of the Brussels Region on this renewal application.

The executive of the Brussels-Capital Region believes that the next environmental permit for Brussels-National airport should better protect the well-being of local residents, said the Brussels Minister for the Environment in a press release following the meeting.

The Brussels government has approved the Capital Region’s opinion on the application to renew the environmental permit for Brussels National Airport. “The application for renewal of the permit and the accompanying impact study are totally inadequate, particularly as regards assessment of the airport’s environmental impact. Nothing has been studied to reduce the nuisance caused by air traffic, at a time when it is high time to protect the health and well-being of local residents”, commented Alain Maron on behalf of the government.

In his view, the Flemish Region has important levers at its disposal, via the granting of the airport’s new environmental permit, to reduce the noise nuisance generated by the airport’s activities and suffered for too long by local residents. “We note that the impact study provided in support of the permit application is not sufficiently thorough for the Flemish Region to take a decision based on the renewal of the environmental permit for Brussels Airport. The Brussels government’s previously communicated requests to protect the health and well-being of local residents have not been taken into account”, added the Brussels minister.

Minister Maron does not rule out legal action if the environmental permit does not go further, offering more guarantees to protect the health and well-being of local residents, he added.

The Brussels regional government is calling for the new environmental permit to limit the number of aircraft movements to 220,000 per year. It calls for compliance with Brussels noise standards to limit noise pollution; the abolition of night flights; and a mandatory fleet renewal for quieter aircraft.

For Alain Maron, the renewal of the environmental permit for Brussels Airport represents a unique opportunity for the Flemish Minister of the Environment to protect the health and well-being of all local residents, whether Flemish, Brussels or Walloon.

Last December, the Brussels Minister for the Environment asked Bruxelles Environnement to inform the people of Brussels about how to make their voices heard in the public inquiry launched by the Flemish Region into the airport’s new environmental permit. “The public inquiry is now over, and the opinion of the people of Brussels must be heard. The impact study must be revised to go further, and the future permit must guarantee strict new conditions to significantly reduce air traffic nuisance”, concluded the Minister.