100,000 residents 'severely disturbed' by noise from Brussels Airport

More than 100,000 people living in the wider vicinity of Brussels Airport are experiencing serious sleep disturbance due to noise from aircraft taking off and landing, according to the airport's annual noise-impact study.

The study is part of the new environmental permit granted to the airport last year. It is conducted by independent research agency and aviation consultant To70, which calculates noise disturbance on the basis of guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"Severely sleep-disturbed" is a new term in the annual report, which identified 101,753 such people in 2024.

The number of affected people is greatest in the City of Brussels (17,972 severely sleep-disturbed people), Schaerbeek (12,925) and Evere (7,009), but affected residents are spread across some 40 municipalities in total.

Another new term in the report is "severely affected" people, which also includes daytime disturbance. This number is estimated at 209,110, again based on the most recent population data.

The number of potentially severely affected people is calculated on the basis of those who are exposed to noise levels of 55 decibels or more, while the threshold for the other affected groups is lower (40 and 45 decibels respectively).

The figures have increased compared to 2019, despite the fact that the number of flights has decreased and aircraft overall have ecame quieter. The increase is mainly due to population growth and not so much to additional aircraft noise.

“With a constant population, the number of people potentially severely affected would have been 1.9% lower in 2024,” the report explained.

There were 198,617 aircraft movements at the airport in 2024, reflecting continued recovery after three years affected by the pandemic. Still, compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, the number of aircraft movements was 15% lower.

The report points out that airlines are increasingly using new, quieter aircraft at Brussels Airport.

“The aircraft fleet at the airport is also becoming increasingly noise-efficient thanks to the introduction of more and more latest-generation aircraft,” the report said.

“In 2024, 36% of flights were operated with the most efficient aircraft, compared to 25% in 2019.”