“It’s like having a crying baby,” says Josephine Overeem (79), who hears several flights passing over her home in Strombeek at night. “But such a crybaby is growing up. The problem continues for us. There are days when I walk around like a zombie.”
“It starts with a few flights around one o’clock,” says Overeem. “Then another ten will follow between three and five. And from six o’clock one aircraft after another passes. You wake up every time and find it difficult to fall asleep again. I gritted four teeth because of the stress. A lot of people here take sleeping pills, but I don’t want that. I am retired, but it is of course much worse for people who have to go to work. My grandchildren can’t come and sleep here, because they just can’t. The impact of that noise on your life is far-reaching.”
The Superior Health Council (SHC) mapped out this impact in a new report. On this basis, the group of scientists advocates a ban on night flights between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. “We do this mainly because of the impact on sleep quality and health,” says environmental toxicologist Greet Schoeters (UAntwerp), who coordinated the expert working group.
According to the report, around 160,000 people in the vicinity of Brussels Airport are at increased risk of all kinds of health problems. They experience more than 60 decibels more than ten times a night. Several studies show a link between nighttime aircraft noise and an increased risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Other research finds links to depression and impaired cognitive development in children. In addition to noise, experts also point out the harmful effects of air pollution, which increases the risk of lung problems and cardiovascular disease.
“We have invested in super-insulating glass and sleep with custom-made earplugs,” says Freddy Van Stichel (66) from Meise. “Yet my wife and I still wake up regularly. I think it is madness that people continue to use those night flights in such a densely populated area.”
The Superior Health Council points out that the actual burden caused by night flights is ‘greatly underestimated’, because ‘night’ according to the definition of the federal government runs from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. In 2022, there were 16,916 flights during that period. Just over half of these are cargo flights. Another 7,804 flights took place between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. “Those very early flights also have a major impact on sleep quality,” says Schoeters.
Cardiologist Marc Goethals (OLV Hospital Aalst), who has been studying the problem of noise pollution for years, fully agrees with the advice. “Sleep is crucial for our mental and physical recovery,” says Goethals. “In addition, our bodies are very sensitive to noise at night. Even when you think it makes you sleep, your body subconsciously responds to it.”
Quiet weekend nights
Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) launched a plan last year to cancel all night flights at Zaventem from the winter of 2024, but was then rejected by both Open Vld and the Flemish government, out of concern about job losses. “This report is crystal clear,” said Gilkinet. “I call on all parties involved to work on the proposal I have put on the table.”
Governments have been discussing the impact of night flights for more than twenty years. “The routes have shifted somewhat, depending on who pulled the strings, but the file has been stuck for two decades,” says Jasper Wouters of Bond Beter Leefmilieu, who has been advocating a ban for some time. The question is whether anything will change soon.
At the end of March, Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) approved a new environmental permit for airport operator Brussels Airport Company. There was no ban on night flights, but there were a number of stricter conditions. For example, the noisiest aircraft will be banned from the summer of 2025, and the focus will be on quieter weekend nights. From 2026, only aircraft that remain below a certain noise level will be allowed to land from Saturday to Monday between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
The Regional Environmental Licensing Commission had recommended banning noise peaks of 60 decibels or more by 2028. But that advice was not followed because, according to the minister, it would de facto amount to a total ban. According to Goethals, that is possible. “The problem is that there is no will to enforce more environmentally friendly flying through standards.”
The number of ‘severely disturbed sleep’ must be reduced by 30 percent by 2032. “Farmer’s deception,” says Goethals. “Those types of goals are based on theoretical annual averages. While for local residents it is mainly the noise peaks that count.”
“According to some, our permit is not strict enough, according to others, too strict,” says the Demir cabinet. “She aspires to a balance between quality of life and prosperity, and we still support that.”
The Superior Health Council points out that better data are needed about exposure to noise in and around Brussels, and the link with possible health problems. But according to the experts, the need for additional research should not be an excuse for not taking action now.
De Morgen, De Oorzaak, together with the University of Antwerp and University Hospital Antwerp, maps noise pollution in Flanders. Discover here in real time how loud it is in Antwerp, Leuven and Ghent.
