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Air cargo operators quit Brussels after noise pollution fines hit

BRUSSELS Airport authority blame noise pollution fines from the Brussels Capital Region for air cargo operators abandoning the airport as their hub, reports Switzerland's Chi-Aviation.

"With the end of tolerances, not only will night flights not be carried out, but standards will be so strict that many day flights will be condemned as well," said Brussels Airport Company CEO Arnaud Feist.

"Brussels Airlines [SN, Brussels National] A320s will no longer be able to take off between 6-7am. When the day comes that this Belgian airline is fined between EUR5,000 (US$5,487) and EUR10,000, I do not think that the parent company Lufthansa will be amused. This will not help keep Brussels Airlines in Brussels," said Mr Feist.

Singapore Airlines Cargo, Slovakia's ACG Air Cargo Global, and Asiana Airlines have indicated their intention to shift cargo operations away.

Air Cargo Global has decided to halt all activities at Brussels Airport on account of the fines.

Magma Aviation says it will leave in the next few weeks if the restrictions continue and has identified two alternative airports in other countries from where to continue its activities.

In February, Yangtze River Express stopped its full-freighter operations at Brussels.

The airport said that of the six full-freighter carriers that operated with B747 aircraft, only four are left, reported London's Air Cargo News.

Air Cargo Global decided to quit the airport due to the legal insecurity and financial risks associated with Brussels Capital Region's move to drop the tolerance margin for noise fines for its decision to move its operations to Amsterdam and Prague.

Yangtze River Express and Air Cargo Global moved 20,000 tonnes of cargo through Brussels in 2016, accounting for 12 per cent of Brussels' total volume.

Said Mr Feist: "The need for a stable legal framework and a permanent solution is more urgent than ever. As we argued at the end of April, the decision by the Brussels government to postpone the actual collection of the fines is no solution.

"This decision may have been made with good intentions, but it actually creates a period of uncertainty of one and a half to two years," he said.

Citizens groups argue that the airport is too close to the city for the number of flights it currently operates. In November 2016, Brussels National handled almost 35,000 tonnes in freighter cargo on 1,341 flights. Total freighter cargo for the period January to November increased 4.4 per cent year on year. Passenger capacity is around 250,000 per week on 1,677 flights.

Mr Feist said Brussels will lose 25 per cent of its air cargo due to the new regulations while passenger airlines will also be negatively affected.

Airport spokeswoman Nathalie Van Impe adds that removing freight from the airport would be "economic and social suicide". As a response to citizens' concerns, the airport has placed an advertisement in Belgian newspapers addressing what it calls "five untruths".

Citizens have struck back with a legal attack on the ad for "false advertising, falsehood and use of falsehood and manipulation detrimental to public health".