Among the people living in the area of Brussels Airport in Zaventem, there is "absolutely no support" for a total ban on night flights as Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) had proposed, said parcel company DHL Express after it commissioned a survey from local residents.
The survey was conducted by the Indiville research firm, which independently worked out the content and questions, said DHL spokesperson Lorenzo Van de Pol. The online questionnaire was completed by 1,000 people living near Brussels Airport and/or under flight paths, both in the Flemish Brabant province and in the Brussels-Capital Region.
A majority of respondents indicated that they are slightly bothered by aircraft noise: for 39% this is "a little" and for 28% "quite to very much," while 31% experienced no noise pollution from the airport. Additionally, the main disruptions were experienced from day flights rather than night flights – for instance, almost two in three respondents said they were "never" bothered by air traffic at night.
Most local residents also seem to be able to live with the noise of overflying aircraft. A majority (73%) are counting on technological advances to make aircraft quieter, but there is much less enthusiasm for hard interventions in the number of flights, for example. Just under three in ten (29%) think the number of flights at the airport should be reduced. Just slightly more people are against this (32%), the rest took no position.
No majority
As for night flights, four in ten believe that night flights should be allowed under the current restrictions (with 16,000 night slots granted per year, of which 5,000 are departures). A quarter think that they should not be allowed, and the rest do not express a view.
Additionally, the majority does not support a total ban on night flights: a quarter are in favour, but almost half (47%) explicitly speak out against such a ban. Resistance is greater in Flemish Brabant: 57% are against a night flight ban. In Brussels, the figure drops to 40%, while one in three do support a complete ban on night flights.
"In the procedure for a new environmental permit for Brussels Airport, the objections of the opponents were mainly heard, we wanted to hear everyone a bit," said DHL Express of the survey. "It shows that there is support for DHL's activities, but absolutely no support for a total ban on night flights."
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DHL itself is not asking for more night flights at Brussels Airport, the spokesperson added. "But we are not asking to lower the ceiling either."
About half of the night flights to and from the airport are cargo flights, the others are passenger flights. Most departing flights at night are from DHL. The maximum margin of error of the survey is 3%.
