Over 100,000 residents near Brussels Airport have their sleep "seriously disturbed" by aircraft take-offs and landings.
The number of "people whose sleep is severely disturbed" is a new term used in the annual noise countour report by Brussels Airport. It is calculated on the basis of guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to this calculation, and based on the latest demographic data, there were around 101,753 "severely sleep-deprived" people in 2024, spread across some forty municipalities.
Since 1999, aircraft overflights have been subject to a Brussels-Capital Region decree on combating noise generated by air traffic. Credit : BrusselsAirport
Complaints
Complaints from residents about aircraft noise around Brussels Airport surged in 2024, according to the latest annual report from the federal airport mediation service.
In total, 37,188 complaints were filed by 3,909 individuals over the course of the year, a sharp increase compared with 28,893 in 2023.
Several factors were cited as driving the rise in complaints: heightened public attention on the renewal of Brussels Airport Company’s environmental permit, repeated maintenance works that closed key runways, adverse weather leading to more deviations from the preferential runway scheme, and the continued use of older, noisier aircraft at night.
Residents also expressed frustration at the night-time operations of cargo aircraft such as the Boeing 777, which is banned from night flights, and at what they described as a lack of transparency from the airport operator.
Noise zones
Since 1999, aircraft overflights have been subject to a Brussels-Capital Region decree on combating noise generated by air traffic. This decree sets out the noise standards to be respected on the ground.
Brussels is divided into three zones according to the maximum permissible noise levels during overflights.
By day (7 a.m. – 11 p.m.) / at night (11 p.m. – 7 a.m.):
Zone 0: 55 dB(A) / 45 dB(A)
Zone 1: 60 dB(A) / 50 dB(A)
Zone 2: 65 dB(A) / 55 dB(A)
In Belgium, noise standards are monitored by the Regions. In total, Bruxelles Environnement has installed nine monitoring stations.
Each month, the regional authority cross-checks the data collected by the sound meters with the list of aircraft taking off and landing at Brussels Airport. In the event of a violation, Bruxelles Environnement draws up an official report against the offending airlines.
Schaerbeek case
Located in the north-east of Brussels, Schaerbeek accounts for 5% of the regional territory (8.1 km²). It stretches from Gare du Nord to the start of the Liège motorway, near Boulevard Reyers.
With a population of 129,775 inhabitants in 2025, it is the second most populous municipality in the Brussels region. It is also one of the hardest hit by aircraft noise.
Schaerbeek mayor Audrey Henry (MR) condemned the disruption on Sunday, saying residents had been subjected to noisy landings as planes dipped below 2,000 feet in densely populated areas.
"The municipality of Schaerbeek cannot accept being confronted with a fait accompli in this way by Brussels Airport Company," she declared, accusing the operator of a serious lack of communication.
The construction works, which will continue until 26 September, affect ground taxiways and have made runway 07 left unusable. When winds turn unfavourable, as they did on Sunday, aircraft are rerouted along unusual and noisier flight paths. Henry called for "essential dialogue whenever such major works are undertaken."
"The municipality of Schaerbeek cannot accept being confronted with a fait accompli in this way by Brussels Airport Company," Schaerbeek mayor Audrey Henry(MR). Credit: Belga.
"Totally unacceptable"
Mediator Philippe Touwaide confirmed that the closures had indeed forced planes to use an old approach procedure dating back to the 1950s, bringing them over Brussels at low altitude and without precise alignment. "Everyone was presented with a fait accompli by Brussels Airport Company, which is totally unacceptable," he said.
Touwaide also criticised the airport's refusal to provide explanations when he sought clarification on Saturday. "This absence of dialogue needlessly fuels protest and a major controversy," he warned, urging Brussels Airport's chief executive, Arnaud Feist, to apologise for what he described as a failure of management.
