The mayors of Kortenberg and Steenokkerzeel oppose the planned extension of the Zaventem Airport. According to blueprints which have leaked to the press, the most drastic scenario is planning the destruction of 22 homes, while the remaining residents would find themselves against an 18-meter-high “wall,” Het Nieuwsblad, De Standaard, Het Belang van Limburg and De Gazet van Antwerpen write Monday.
At the end of 2016, Brussels Airport had announced its extension plan for the 2040 horizon. The blueprints have now been concretely drawn and defined by the design agency Arcadis. This agency puts forward two options, according to the blueprints which the Het Nieuwsblad editorial staff has been able to look at. One does not include the extension of the 25L runway ; the other does.
If it is decided to go ahead with this “big” extension, the airport will cover at least 95 hectares. “Our villages will then become unfit for living,” fear the mayors of the municipalities next to Steenokkerzeel and Kortenberg. “We’ll do all we can to prevent that extension to become a reality.”
According to Brussels Airport, no final decision has been made yet in this case. “The blueprints evoke possible scenarios, which we will present to the residents Wednesday,” contends the airport in the press.
The Brussels Times
