The Flemish government on Friday approved a motion against a legislative amendment regarding night-time operations by DHL using a Boeing 777 at the national airport.
Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) recently introduced the amendment, which effectively barred the Boeing 777 from landing or taking off at Zaventem Airport, citing excessive noise pollution. However, Flemish Government Minister Weyts (N-VA) countered that the measure was implemented covertly.
Gilkinet defended his move by saying that he had issued a similar directive a year earlier based on the aircraft’s European certification, which assessed its noise output as significantly above the admitted noise level at night.
Minister Weyts argued against this, stating the relatively large aircraft could operate more quietly as DHL would not need to fully load them. He suggested that using smaller Airbus A300 planes as replacements would cause more disruption since they would need to be flown fully loaded.
Weyts also urged the Flemish government to initiate a conflict-of-interest motion against Gilkinet’s directive, which it did on Friday afternoon.
A conflict of interest between national bodies can be activated when one believes its interests are significantly harmed by the actions of another. In such situations, the disputed measure is temporarily suspended to allow for consultation.
