Airlines owe the Brussels-Capital Region tens of millions of euros, it has emerged, after investigations by reporters at Le Soir found that only 20% of the fines issued for aircraft noise around Brussels Airport in the last 25 years have ever been paid.
Since the year 2000, over 1,500 fines have been imposed on airlines guilty of breaking noise limit rules around Brussels Airport, amounting to a total debt of €32 million. Only six million euros of that sum has ever been settled, and legal costs remain outstanding as well.
Noise pollution affects around 220,000 people in the capital, according to a 2023 study by the Flemish Federation for a Better Environment (Bond Beter Leefmilieu), and that’s despite attempts to address the problem. In early 2023, for example, Brussels Airport introduced a new tariff structure to categorise planes into eight bands and penalise the noisiest and most polluting operators with airport charges up to 20 times those applied to more modern aircraft.
Although action has been ongoing for years to make the airlines in question pay what they owe, at least €10.8 million has now been written off. Another figure of over six million euros has been categorised as “not recoverable”, though attempts to recover the debt could go on for another 10 years. A further eight million euros is the subject of ongoing appeals.
Controversy over aircraft noise and flight routes around the Belgian capital has been rumbling on for years. Various studies quantified the problem, with one 2017 investigation finding that noise pollution violations in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe from a shocking 28% percent of flights. Most of that illegal noise occurred between 6 am and 7 am, research has found, prompting campaigners to note the detrimental effect of noise pollution on human health. Night flights are particularly problematic, affecting heart and vascular health in men.
In 2024, the Brussels environment agency took nuisance airlines that overfly the Belgian capital to court for the first time, based on 63 official reports dating from May 2024. Now, the latest report on airline fines by Le Soir means the topic has re-entered the headlines after the Federal Transport Minister Jean-Luc Crucke indicated he would undertake new talks with a number of Brussels mayors over the issue of noise pollution.
The mayors had denounced “unacceptable” delays despite “months of insistence” before a “disappointing” meeting was finally held on 4 February. Crucke has attempted to lower the temperature of the debate, saying it is a “technical and regulatory issue” and “deserves a rigorous and responsible approach.”
