The presentation of the 2040 development plan for Brussels Airport is a non-event. This document contains no measures in favor of the environment, and no progress other than a free hand towards economic efficiency, said the Union Belge Contre les Nuisances des Avions (UBCNA) on Thursday, reacting to the presentation of the strategic vision of Brussels Airport Company (BAC).
“Mr Feist (editor’s note: the CEO of BAC) seems to want to reach out, but he never listens to the opinions of local residents and neighboring municipalities. The only thing Brussels Airport cares about is maximum economic return… At the operational level, Arnaud Feist seems to forget that his airport is the worst in Europe in environmental terms, that the Zaventem site is surrounded by highly urbanized areas, and that it is impossible to fly without disturbing the cities of Brussels, Mechelen and Leuven”, commented Peggy Cortois, the managing director of the main association of local residents on the eastern outskirts of the national airport, on Thursday.
For Ms. Cortois, the solutions proposed in terms of operating procedures are “purely fanciful” and do not respect aeronautical logic, weather forecasts or even court rulings when it comes to using the three runways 01 and 25 right and left at the same time “in defiance of elementary safety rules”; using runway 19 for take-off for all types of aircraft, disregarding negative safety studies; “conditionally” extending runway 25L by 900 meters; or using runway 07 right to land “over the Grand-Place of Brussels”.
In the UBCNA’s view, runway 25 left should be extended by at least 1,800 meters to avoid all urbanized areas during take-off; night flights have no place at Brussels-National; and day flights should no longer be increased.
