Flemish Environment minister Zuhal Demir grants conditional environment permit to Brussels Airport
The Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (nationalist) has granted the Brussels Airport Company an environment permit. The Brussels Airport Company is responsible for Belgium’s largest and busiest airport at Zaventem in Flemish Brabant. The granting of the permit secures the future of the airport. The permit imposes certain conditions that “ensure a balance between the economic interests of the airport and quality of life for those living nearby”.
The airport’s current environment permit expires on 8 July. A new environment permit was needed to ensure that the airport could continue to operate. The Flemish Government needed to take a decision on the airport’s environment permit before the end of this month. This deadline has now been met.
In mid-March, the regional environmental licensing committee GOVC advised the Flemish Government to grant a permit to the airport on provision that certain conditions were imposed. GOVC advised that the permit should be granted for an indefinite period. Among the conditions suggested were capping the number of aircraft movements at the airport and tightening the restrictions on aircraft noise on weekend nights.
On Friday the Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) announced that she had approved the new environment permit. However, a number of conditions have been added to “Ensure a balance between the economic interests of the airport and quality of life for those living in surrounding area".
No bad on night flights
Although there will not be a ban on night flights, Ms Demir says that she aims to greatly reduce the number of people with seriously sleep-deprivation issues. The aim is to reduce the number of people with severe sleep-deprivation problems by 30% by 2032. One of the measures that will be taken to achieve this is the gradual introduction of “silent nights” during the weekends.