The municipality of Schaerbeek wants to take the Belgian State to court over the increased noise pollution from aircraft flying over its territory, announced mayor Martin De Brabant (MR) on Wednesday.
Following Koekelberg and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Schaerbeek is the third Brussels municipality to take legal action against the intensive use of the RNP 07L flight path.
In recent months, this route has been used much more frequently – initially due to works on another runway last summer, resulting in flights passing over certain densely populated Brussels municipalities much more often.
According to De Brabant, his municipality has been overflown more than 300 times in the past two days. "That accounts for 95% of landings, via a runway that should really only be used as a last resort."
The Schaerbeek municipal council is calling on the Federal Government to take structural measures. For instance, flight paths must be adjusted to relieve pressure on densely populated areas, existing noise standards must be respected, and the use of the RNP 07L route must be explicitly reserved for exceptional circumstances.
The college of councillors has already approved the legal action. The municipal council has yet to give the go-ahead.
