Noise Brussels Airport ‘seriously disturbs’ sleep of over 100,000 residents
The sleep of more than 100,000 people living in the wide vicinity of Brussels Airport is “seriously disturbed” by aircraft taking off and landing. The disturbance is greatest in the city of Brussels and the municipality of Schaerbeek, shows the annual study on the airport's noise impact.
The number of “seriously sleep disturbed” is a new term in the annual reporting of the airport's noise impact by an independent study firm, aviation consultancy To70. It’s part of the new environmental permit the airport received last year and is calculated based on World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
According to that calculation, and based on the latest population data, there were 101,753 “seriously sleep disturbed” in 2024. These people live across about 40 municipalities, with the biggest impact on residents in the city of Brussels (17,972) and the Brussels municipalities of Schaerbeek (12,925) and Evere (7,009). Another new term in the report is that of the number of “severely bothered people”, which includes daytime nuisance. That number is estimated at 209,110.
In both cases, there is an increase compared to 2019, when there were even more flights to and from Brussels Airport. That increase is mainly linked to the increased population, rather than any additional aircraft nuisance.
Quieter aircraft
The report points out that airlines are increasingly using new, quieter aircraft at Brussels Airport. “The airport's aircraft fleet is also becoming increasingly noise-efficient with the entry of more and more latest-generation aircraft,” states the report. “In 2024, 36 per cent of flights were operated with the most efficient aircraft, versus 25 per cent in 2019.”
Illustration © BELGA PHOTO BELPRESS
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