Forty-two families from the Flemish Brabant municipalities of Dilbeek, Lennik and Roosdaal are suing the Belgian state over what they call a “brutal attack” on their quality of life caused by a controversial flight path to Brussels Airport.
The legal action was announced on Tuesday by the citizen group Bruegelvogelvrij.
At the centre of the dispute is a satellite-guided approach route for landings on runway 07L at Brussels Airport in Zaventem. It was introduced in 2025 as a temporary trial and has since been extended until October 2026.
Under the new route, aircraft align with runway 07L earlier to the west of the airport and fly along the same narrow corridor over areas including Lennik, Dilbeek and Brussels municipalities such as Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Koekelberg.
Residents living under the flight path say this has led to repeated noise disturbance. In a press release, Bruegelvogelvrij said people in the same streets, neighbourhoods and homes are often subjected to the noise of landing aircraft for days at a time.
On busy days, the group said, a plane passes overhead every two to three minutes. It argued that this level of air traffic did not exist when many residents bought their homes.
Opposition to the route has been building for some time. Lennik’s municipal authorities previously said they were preparing legal action over the rising aircraft nuisance, while the Brussels regional government has also said it would go to court.
On Tuesday, the Brussels citizen movement Free Air 4 Brussels again criticised the route, calling it a capacity-driven decision that sacrifices the health of 270,000 people in Brussels and Flanders.
Federal Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) has repeatedly said the satellite-guided route is required under European rules and serves as an alternative procedure when preferred runways cannot be used, for example because of wind conditions.
He has also said that authorities are examining what measures could be taken to reduce noise levels on the ground.
