The Brussels regional government can no longer challenge the RNP 07L approach path at Brussels Airport, known as the “Crucke route”, before the Council of State because it missed the deadline to file an appeal.
According to De Standaard and Le Soir on Thursday, the deadline expired after an error within the office of Brussels regional Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt of Groen.
On 17 July, Federal Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke of Les Engagés informed Van den Brandt’s office of the “imminent permanent implementation” of the approach path, which passes over the north of Brussels.
Following that official notification, the Brussels government had 60 days to lodge an application for annulment with the Council of State.
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However, the letter was not passed on to Ans Persoons, the Secretary of State for the Environment and Climate, who is responsible for the matter. She only became aware of it on 6 November.
Van den Brandt’s office is said not to have informed either Persoons or the rest of the Brussels government about the letter.
By then, the deadline for an appeal had already passed. “We are deeply disappointed. For months, we have been working flat out on the issue of aircraft overflights. This mistake deprives us of an important lever in our fight against this new route, which affects so many people in Brussels,” Persoons said.
It remains unclear exactly where Van den Brandt’s office made the mistake. Her office said, however, that it did not regard the letter as an official notification.
The Brussels government is expected to discuss the issue of flights over Brussels on Thursday during a cabinet meeting.
