Thirteen environmental organizations and residents’ associations are approaching the Council for Permit Disputes to challenge the permit for Brussels Airport. According to the organizations, the conditions imposed in the permit are largely insufficient to protect the health of local residents and to limit the impact on the climate and the environment.
At the end of March, Flemish Minister of the Environment Zuhal Demir approved the new environmental permit for Brussels Airport. This indefinite-term permit does not prohibit night flights, but there will be quiet weekend nights and the number of seriously disturbed sleepers must be reduced by 30 percent by 2030.
However, according to the organization, the new permit hardly contains any effective measures to limit noise pollution. While night flights saddle more than 150,000 local residents with serious sleep problems, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The organizations also point out that the Superior Health Council recently advocated phasing out night flights. Moreover, a study by Transport & Mobility Leuven shows that a ban on night flights hardly costs any jobs and can even lead to more quality jobs, the organizations say.
However, the planes that cause the most nuisance are no longer allowed to take off on weekends between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. “Don’t local residents need a night’s rest during the working week?” the organizations wonder.
According to them, sleep disturbance was not sufficiently investigated in the environmental impact report (EIA), nor were sufficient measures included in the permit to protect sleep. The organizations argue that this is a legal basis for annulling the permit.
In addition, the organizations also criticize that the new permit does not hinder the unbridled growth of air freight and the number of passengers, which will inevitably have a greater impact on the climate. “The EIA and the permit do not sufficiently take this climate impact into account. This is contrary to national and international environmental legislation. It also undermines climate efforts by other sectors. That is also why we ask that this permit be annulled,” the letter says.
Furthermore, according to the organizations, nature will suffer even more from nitrogen emissions from aircraft. According to them, hardly any measures are being taken in response to this, which is contrary to European and Flemish nature legislation. Finally, the organizations also complain that the environmental impact report only assumes a maximum growth scenario and does not examine alternatives, although this is required by law.
The thirteen associations challenging the permit are Bond Beter Leefmilieu Vlaanderen, Dryade vzw, Climaxi vzw, Grandparents for the Climate, BOREAS vzw, Sterrebeek 2000 vzw, AWACSS vzw, Solidair Tervuren Overijse vzw, Milieusteunpunt Huldenberg vzw, Wake Up Kraainem vzw, BUTV vzw, Natuurpunt Oost-Brabant and Natuurpunt Noord West-Brabant.