A group of four mayors is demanding a change to the Brussels Airport's 01 runway, which they claim has generated noise pollution and affected their municipalities on the capital's outskirts, La Dernière Heure reports.
The mayors of Braine-l'Alleud, Waterloo, Rixensart and Lasne all put a joint statement in which they explained how the runway was disturbing their residents in the Walloon Brabant province.
The local officials said that there are around 200 to 300 landings on the runway per day, resulting in one overflight every four minutes felt by their municipalities' inhabitants.
La Dernière Heure revealed that these municipalities experience, on average, sounds of over 70 to 80 decibels every four minutes. For comparison, "42 decibels are enough to wake you up," according to Charles Sohet, the director of a non-profit organisation combatting flight-generated noise pollution.
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These issues have led all four mayors to team up and "show that local authorities are no longer fighting this battle [against runway noise] on their own." However, they admitted that their efforts can only go so far as noise pollution falls within the remit of the Federal Government.
Furthermore, the Belgian Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet, who is in charge of the airport, has been criticised by the mayors for ignoring their requests regarding the runway. Sohet, for example, told La Dernière Heure that he had sent letters and emails to the minister's office but to no avail.
The group now hopes that their united front will force Gilkinet into hearing them out and take the necessary action to reduce the negative impact of the airport.
