Brussels airport, victim of linguistic fights and environmental craziness in Belgium
On the website of the Brussels-based Institut Hayek, a Belgian citizen writes to his French friend about Brussels airport, located at Zaventem:
The author of this letttre à un ami français is right when he points at the asphyxiating reglementations in Belgium. He is wrong, however, to put all the blame for the nationalistic pulsions that have interfered with commercial air traffic on Mr Bert Anciaux.
Since anyone can remember, landing and takeoff corridors of Brussels airport were dispersed. Planes took off and landed, using one of the three available runways, based on weather and wind conditions. 280 days a year, this meant using runway 25L to land and the parrallel 25R to take off. Both runways lie on an east-west axis, ideal for the predominantly western wind direction in this part of Belgium. Landing planes flew over the area between Leuven and Brussels, planes taking off flew over the northern, central or eastern parts of Brussels, dependent on their destination. Forty days per year, both runwas were used but landing and takeoff were switched, due to reverse wind conditions. Another 40 days per year, runway 02/20 was used, situated on a northeast-southwest axis. In that era, takeoff and landing corridors were determined by the weather, and not by politics.
In the second half of 1999, Isabelle Durant, from the green party ECOLO, became minister of transport in the federal government of Belgium. Almost immediately after taking office, she wanted to abolish all night-time takeoffs and landings. By ministerial decree, signed by Durant on December 31, 1999, she abolished all night-time flights between 1 and 5 am, starting in 2003. But after numerous negotiations within the federal government, Durant was prepared to let the night-time flights continue, if the corridors were reorganized. This reorganisation would concentrate 80% of the flights over the northern outskirts of Brussels (Vilvoorde, Meise, Grimbergen), in the Dutch-speaking region, and would not only comprise night-time flights, but all flights from and to Zaventem. The south-eastern outskirts of Brussels (Wezembeek, Kraainem, Tervuren) would receive much less noisy air traffic, about 20%. These south-eastern outskirts of Brussels not only housed the French-speaking electorate of Mrs. Durant, but also the Dutch-speaking chief of cabinet of Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, Mr. Luc Coene.
The negotiations and the solution for the air corridor reorganization were influenced by new anti-noise legislation from the Brussels local government. This new legislation was based on the most severe norms of the World Health Organization. Inside of houses, the noise level should remain below 45 dB. This means at most 65 dB outside. But a low-flying airplane produces between 75 to 100 dB, dependent on the type. The Brussels minister of the environment, Didier Gosuin, is a member of the FDF, the Front Démocratique des Francophones, a so-called "linguistic party", promoting the rights of french-speakers. By installing severe anti-noise legislation, Gosuin hoped to ban all noisy air trafic from the predominantly french-speaking central and south-eastern parts of Brussels to the Dutch-speaking northern outskirts of the capital. With the help of Mrs Durant, he succeeded.
In February of 2002, a new phase began. Minister Durant decided to concentrate all noise over an area as small as possible. This area would receive all the burden. Since the northern outskirts of Brussels already got 80% of the noise, it was logical to increase this to 100%, so that the other areas would become noise-free. These northern outskirts of Brussels were not part of the Brussels region, but fell under the competence of the Flemish region. Amazingly, the Flemish government agreed with this new plan. In compensation, the federal government would pay the noise-isolation of some 10,000 houses that were affected. That seemed like a good solution, until it appeared that the concentration of the flights would start in December 2002, but the isolation work would start in 2004 and would last six years.
All this happened before Mr Bert Anciaux succeeded Mrs Durant in the summer of 2003. One year later, he quit his job to become minister for culture in the Flemish government. Anciaux is a member of Spirit, a political party mixing Flemish nationalism, social-democracy and leftist liberalism. During his one-year term, Mr Anciaux had redistributed air traffic over several parts of Brussels and its outskirts. But, because of the severe anti-noise legislation in Brussels, this meant moving a part of the flights from the northern outskirts to the southeastern oustkirts, both over Flemish territory. People from both areas went to court, and a judge banned the use of runway 02/20 on Saturdays. The present situation: on weekdays, the northern outskirts of Brussels get most of the noise. During the weekend, the eastern and southeastern part gets the noise.
The result of all this fuss? Carrier DHL, who is highly dependent from permissions to take off and land at night, has decided to move its European logistics center from Zaventem to Leipzig. And now, a new crisis has emerged. An appeal court in Brussels has given the government a deadline of three months to stop all airplane noise over Brussels. A fine of 25,000 euro will have to be paid for each flight that violates the Brussels anti-noise laws. This could mean the end for Zaventem airport. The airport is run by BIAC, a private company owned by Australian company Macquarie Airports.
Amazingly, the green party ECOLO now wants a return to the pre-1999 situation. A situation that would still exist today, had it not been for the efforts of its own minister, Isabelle Durant. As Eric Van Rompuy, a christian-democratic member of Flemish parliament puts it: "In 1999, the greens have destroyed the social acceptance of airplane noise, which is economically necessary".
Since anyone can remember, planes have used certain corridors to land and takeoff there. Since anyone can remember, houses within these corridors were sold at a fraction of the price some hundreds of meters further, outside of the noisy corridors. Logic.
Everything went well until a Flemish minister, Bert Anciaux, decided to "disperse" flights by multiplying the landing and takeoff corridors. Reason: Flemish people were living in the "historic" corridors and, in the nationalist mind of mister Anciaux, this is intolerable. It was necessary that the people of Brussels would also share a part of the noise. Welcome to Belgium.
The author of this letttre à un ami français is right when he points at the asphyxiating reglementations in Belgium. He is wrong, however, to put all the blame for the nationalistic pulsions that have interfered with commercial air traffic on Mr Bert Anciaux.
Since anyone can remember, landing and takeoff corridors of Brussels airport were dispersed. Planes took off and landed, using one of the three available runways, based on weather and wind conditions. 280 days a year, this meant using runway 25L to land and the parrallel 25R to take off. Both runways lie on an east-west axis, ideal for the predominantly western wind direction in this part of Belgium. Landing planes flew over the area between Leuven and Brussels, planes taking off flew over the northern, central or eastern parts of Brussels, dependent on their destination. Forty days per year, both runwas were used but landing and takeoff were switched, due to reverse wind conditions. Another 40 days per year, runway 02/20 was used, situated on a northeast-southwest axis. In that era, takeoff and landing corridors were determined by the weather, and not by politics.
Isabelle Durant
The negotiations and the solution for the air corridor reorganization were influenced by new anti-noise legislation from the Brussels local government. This new legislation was based on the most severe norms of the World Health Organization. Inside of houses, the noise level should remain below 45 dB. This means at most 65 dB outside. But a low-flying airplane produces between 75 to 100 dB, dependent on the type. The Brussels minister of the environment, Didier Gosuin, is a member of the FDF, the Front Démocratique des Francophones, a so-called "linguistic party", promoting the rights of french-speakers. By installing severe anti-noise legislation, Gosuin hoped to ban all noisy air trafic from the predominantly french-speaking central and south-eastern parts of Brussels to the Dutch-speaking northern outskirts of the capital. With the help of Mrs Durant, he succeeded.
In February of 2002, a new phase began. Minister Durant decided to concentrate all noise over an area as small as possible. This area would receive all the burden. Since the northern outskirts of Brussels already got 80% of the noise, it was logical to increase this to 100%, so that the other areas would become noise-free. These northern outskirts of Brussels were not part of the Brussels region, but fell under the competence of the Flemish region. Amazingly, the Flemish government agreed with this new plan. In compensation, the federal government would pay the noise-isolation of some 10,000 houses that were affected. That seemed like a good solution, until it appeared that the concentration of the flights would start in December 2002, but the isolation work would start in 2004 and would last six years.
Bert Anciaux
The result of all this fuss? Carrier DHL, who is highly dependent from permissions to take off and land at night, has decided to move its European logistics center from Zaventem to Leipzig. And now, a new crisis has emerged. An appeal court in Brussels has given the government a deadline of three months to stop all airplane noise over Brussels. A fine of 25,000 euro will have to be paid for each flight that violates the Brussels anti-noise laws. This could mean the end for Zaventem airport. The airport is run by BIAC, a private company owned by Australian company Macquarie Airports.
Amazingly, the green party ECOLO now wants a return to the pre-1999 situation. A situation that would still exist today, had it not been for the efforts of its own minister, Isabelle Durant. As Eric Van Rompuy, a christian-democratic member of Flemish parliament puts it: "In 1999, the greens have destroyed the social acceptance of airplane noise, which is economically necessary".
A Belgian.
Interesting story. But with a distinct Flemish bias. Which is not surprising from a “liberal” who regularly gives voice and shares the opinions of the fascists of the VLAAMS BELANG.
To the point. Durant is a not-so-clever leftist who made a mess of almost everything she touched when she was a minister. BUT there is a difference between the plain stupidity, ideology & electoralism of Durant and the linguistic racism of a Bert Anciaux.
When you write that Durant concentrated the flights on Vilvoorde, Meise, Grimbergen in order to privilege Wezembeek, Kraainem, Tervuren because “these south-eastern outskirts of Brussels (…) housed the French-speaking electorate of Mrs. Durant”, you must be kidding! The part of the French-speaking population living in these **Flemish** localities and voting for the leftists of ECOLO are neglectable.
Moreover, Durant never revendicated that she wanted to favor the French-speaking population of Brussels or the outskirts, where Anciaux never made a mystery that he wanted to preserve the FLEMISH population. That’s the difference between ideology and the racism which is currently contaminating every single party in VLAANDEREN.
To conclude whith the politician you quoted in your conclusion: Mr. Van Rompuy. After the recent disagreement on BHV (good luck to explain that to your English-speaking readers!), caused, as you may recall, by a Flemish party (SPIRIT), Mr. Van Rompuy said on TV: “The French-speaking people want war in the Rand. They’ll get it”. Of course, it was an image, a metaphore. Of course. But a disagreeable one, don’t you think?
Yours.