Brussels city council opens new discussion on flight paths

Brussels city council has called on federal transport minister Melchior Wathelet to change flight paths into and out of Brussels Airport. The routes were changed on 6 February to spread the aircraft over a wider zone, but the result is that more aircraft are flying over densely populated areas of Brussels.

The motion submitted to the federal minister was signed by a large majority from almost all Brussels parties. It called on Wathelet to hold new discussions on flight routes and select routes that went over the least populated areas around the airport.

The motion also pressed the minister to set up an independent body to control flight paths, ban flights between 23.00 and 7.00 and require airlines to pay into a fund to provide sound insulation for homes affected by aircraft noise. 

Brussels environment minister Evelyne Huytebroeck sharply criticised Wathelet’s plan earlier this month. “His plan for spreading out flight paths has caused chaos in Brussels airspace,” she said. “This was a disastrous political decision which has had a negative impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of Brussels residents.”   

photo courtesy Karelj/Wikimedia Commons