Inhabitants of the village of Solrézis (northern France close to the Belgian border) have been annoyed by the sound of loud passing jets since mid-February, La Voix du Nord reports. The noises were much louder than ordinary aircraft and often happened very early in the morning.
As it turns out, the source of the annoyance lies over the border in Belgium. The Belgian Ministry of Defence has admitted its error and apologised.
“In Belgium, the night flights of our aircraft take place for the most part on Monday and Tuesday evenings,” a spokesperson for the Belgian Ministry of Defence said. “The sounds heard therefore most likely come from Belgian F-16 aircraft. The Ministry of Defence also wishes to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Night flights generally take place between 1 March and 31 October, with the Armed Forces taking a break from flights between June and September. Most flights take place up until midnight.
“From 1 November to the end of February, we fly until 21:30,” the ministry specifies. This is in order to “do everything possible to limit any noise pollution in this context.”
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This is not the first time that Belgian fighter aircraft have received complaints from angry locals.
In 2021, Brussels residents were rudely awoken in the morning by a large bang, apparently caused by two F-16 fighters breaking the sound barrier. The noise disturbance was particularly loud over Anderlecht and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, but also in Flemish municipalities bordering the capital.
A passing fighter jet can create dangerous or uncomfortable levels of noise, sometimes over 120 decibels (dB). The American Academy of Audiology says that listening to noises over 85 dB for extended periods of time can lead to permanent hearing loss.
