Press release
“Our injury is serious, it’s a public health issue”.
Following the ruling of the Brussels Court of Appeal on March 17, 2005, the Belgian government adopted a number of instructions in an attempt to restore a certain degree of balance to the situation affecting residents living in the east of Brussels. This ruling confirmed the very considerable damage to their health that they suffer as victims of an accumulation of air flows (i.e. 50% of all take-offs from runway 25 in addition to 100% of intensive landings in 01).
At present, the claimants from the Commune of Woluwé-st-Pierre, joined by those from the Communes of Kraainem and Wezembeek-Oppem, note that the various measures or attempted measures adopted by the Belgian State, which were intended to attempt to alleviate their situation in a more balanced manner, have either been withdrawn or have never been implemented in a concrete and effective manner by BELGOCONTROL.
Since April 2, 2015, the petitioners have once again been faced with a situation of cumulative air flows, making them and their neighbors the only residents of the airport affected by such a catastrophic situation! runway 01 is being used excessively and abusively, take-offs on runway 25 via the short left turn are being reintroduced, Belgocontrol is not complying with the State’s instructions as set out in the AIPs, Belgocontrol is using its own non-transparent weather measurement and forecasting tools… The petitioners demand that this situation be brought to an end!
The current situation, which has worsened since April 2, 2015, means that applicants are once again being subjected to unbearable noise pollution. These noise nuisances are such that they prevent people from sleeping at night, seriously jeopardizing their health and their quality of life.
Above all, the applicants fear that they will suffer the horrors of a deadlock situation that would become definitive, due to the entry into force from June 13, 2016 of Regulation No. 598/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 16, 2014 on the establishment of rules and procedures with regard to the introduction of noise-related operating restrictions at airports in the Union, as part of a balanced approach.
They also fear that the deadlock will be further exacerbated, as the press has reported that the Belgian government is currently preparing a law to “concretize” the situation with regard to the selection of airport runways, flight routes and so on.