Brussels Airport under fire: When noise breaches the breaking point

A recent Brussels Times report shows that over 100,000 residents near Brussels Airport experienced “severely disturbed sleep” in 2024 - defined by World Health Organization guidelines and mapped across about 40 municipalities. That’s a stark reminder that aviation impacts extend far beyond operational hours.

Noise complaints have also soared: 37,188 filed by nearly 4,000 individuals - up from under 29,000 in 2023. Contributors include ongoing runway maintenance, adverse weather mandating runway deviations and operation of outdated, noisy aircraft well past night curfews. A Boeing 777, for example, continues to disturb residents long after the ban on night flights.

This isn’t just data - it’s a community in distress. Night-time aircraft above dense neighbourhoods like Schaerbeek are more than a nuisance; they’re a violation of trust when residents say they’ve been left in the dark. The airport’s lack of dialogue has only inflamed frustrations.

The rising noise levels, despite fewer flights than pre-pandemic, are driven by population growth and runway disruptions, not sheer volume. Even with newer, quieter aircraft on 36% of flights, residents still sleep less and worry more.

This is a clear signal to airport operators, regulators, and policymakers: protecting sleep isn’t just about delivering quiet - it’s about maintaining trust, transparency, and community consent. Heathrow and Schiphol may dominate headlines, but Brussels is a proving ground for what happens when noise management falters.

At My Flight Path, we believe aviation impact assessments, especially around night flight compliance and deviation risks, should be as standard as flood-risk checks for property buyers and community planners.

Because noisy skies aren’t just a bothersome backdrop, they’re early warning signals of fractured relationships between airports and the people who live below.