Carriers may abandon Brussels under new 2017 noise restrictions

A decision by the local government to tighten noise restrictions at the Brussels Airport could cost the airport up to 25 percent of its cargo business, according to a quote attributed to the airport’s CEO, Arnaud Feist, by Belgian business daily L’Echo. The crisis was set in motion in May 2016 when Brussels Environment Minister Céline Fremault asked the Brussels Institute of Environmental Management (IBGE) to cease tolerance of overruns relating to noise restrictions, beginning Jan. 1, 2017.

L’Echo also quoted Feist as saying: “We have actually received feedback from several customers indicating their decisions to leave for Schiphol as of March 2 if nothing changes before March 1. We have already lost some customers and routes in the recent past, and the Chinese cargo carrier Yangtze River Express is leaving for Amsterdam as of Jan. 1, 2017. Two or three other airlines are in the same state of mind.” The airport is currently working with various levels of government to find a solution.

The airport, which dates back to World War II, was built in an agricultural area that has since attracted more homes and businesses as Brussels grew and expanded in recent decades. The population increase around the airport subsequently generated its share of noise complaints, and Minister Fremault’s actions earlier this year suggest that the government is moving to address them.

The debate over noise controls has also sparked a tiff in the local media that began when the airport took out a full-page advertisement in a number of papers seeking to address “a lot of lies and half-truths are being told,” according to Nathalie Van Impe, spokeswoman for Brussels Airport.

The Brussels Times now reports that a group of citizens has filed a complaint that alleges that the airport engaged in “false advertising, falsehood and use of falsehood and manipulation detrimental to public health.” The scuffle mirrors the protracted debate over London’s Heathrow Airport expansion plans that has played out in local media and become intensely politicized.

L’Echo quoted Feist as saying that the decision will cost the local economy between 1,250 to 1,500 direct jobs that were generated by cargo carriers that the airport anticipates losing in 2017 if the new noise restrictions rules are enforced.