Woluwe-Saint-Lambert's municipal council has launched a petition to get the Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) to take action on the noise pollution caused by flights from the Brussels Airport.
Following a recent action launched by a citizens' group on Saturday, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert wants the Federal Government to act on a number of noise violations by aeroplanes flying over the west-Brussels municipality.
In a press release, the council stated that this was the latest in a long line of reminders that they had sent to federal authorities about noise pollution.
In 2015, the Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and the capital's other municipalities presented a charter to the Federal Government demanding better protection for residents that are beneath flightpaths. It urged court proceedings for infringements.
To this end, a sound level metre was placed on Rue de la Charrette in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert to measure the noise pollution suffered in the municipality.
Federal infractions
Nonetheless, the Federal Government was fined on two occasions for infringing the so-called Gosuin Decree, which limits the noise levels aircraft can produce in Brussels.
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert's municipal council now states that noise pollution is once again rising to pre-pandemic levels, with 80 violations detected between 06:00 and 07:00 in June of this year (in 2018 this was 102 and 104 in 2019).
The petition includes three demands for the Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet and another for the Brussels region's Minister of the Environment, Alain Maron.
It calls for the Federal Government to prohibit all flights over Brussels from Brussels Airport between 22:00 and 07:00, as well as the most noisy and polluting aircraft.
Related News
- Citizens' group bemoans lack of progress on noise pollution around Brussels Airport
- 'Act of war': Flanders and Brussels clash over Zaventem airport noise pollution
Secondly, it calls for the airport operator to relocate the 25L runway eastward to prevent flying over the region and highly populated areas after takeoff.
Finally, all additional measures on the 2015 charter signed by the various mayors of the capital should be taken into consideration.
Addressing Maron specifically, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert calls on the Brussels government to levy fines on airlines that exceed the noise limit in the capital.
The Flemish Government was not included among those targeted by the petition despite both the regional and federal authorities blaming them for sabotaging recent efforts to reduce noise pollution around the airport in Zaventem.
