Future of urban airports: expansion or environmental concerns?

Gepubliceerd op 10 januari 2024 om 11:22
Plane landing

Belgium, a small densely populated country, has five commercial airports that facilitate passenger transportation. These international airports connect Belgium to the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, all this air traffic is a source of sensitive conflicts among various stakeholders. The most sensitive conflicts related to Belgian airports listed:

Belgian airports

Noise pollution

An airplane passing by generates a tremendous amount of noise. Airports generate significant noise due to aircraft movements. This noise is primarily attributed to the aircraft engines creating intense airwaves.

Additionally, friction also contributes to the intense noise. More speed means more noise as there is greater friction between the air and the aircraft. Brussels Airport and Antwerp International Airport receive numerous complaints about noise pollution.

Both airports are located just a few hundred meters from densely populated areas. Residents are naturally unhappy with all this noise, which can be heard from miles away. Airports are constantly seeking new ways to minimize the produced noise as much as possible. Measures such as the installation of sound barriers are often not enough for local residents.

Airports feel the pressure to implement more measures to minimize noise pollution. This includes significantly restricting nighttime air traffic at various airports and encouraging airlines to invest in quieter engines.

To fully solve this issue, electric or hydrogen-powered aircraft are considered must-have items.

Airport

Expansion

Antwerp International Airport, with its notably shorter runway than other commercial airports in Belgium, would like to expand to compete with other airports and accommodate larger aircraft.

Unfortunately, this expansion would come at the expense of a significant amount of agricultural land, leading to the dissatisfaction of farmers and local residents. This process is still ongoing and has faced significant protests.

The question continues: “Will this airport continue to operate?”, or is the government investing millions of euros into a sinking ship? Next, there is also controversy concerning expansion plans for Liège Airport.

Several Belgian farmers protest against these plans as they could lose a substantial amount of agricultural land. There is significant opposition to expansion plans for both Deurne and Liège airport because they require a considerable amount of agricultural land.

It's not just farmers who are dissatisfied with expansion plans, local residents are also protesting against the growing airports.

Antwerp International Airport

Air pollution

Nowadays, in a world where we see CO2 in the air and in a world where we are really committed to climate change, the produced air pollution from air traffic plays a significant role. The debate about airplane emissions has been ongoing for decades, with slow progress.

Charleroi Airport has experienced substantial growth in recent years, raising concerns about its impact on surrounding natural areas and residential areas. This concern is not limited to Charleroi but applies to all commercial airports in Belgium.

The government is taking measures to impose higher taxes on more polluting aircraft in terms of emissions compared to cleaner aircraft.

Nevertheless, these measures are often insufficient to appease the general public living around airports. They are concerned about health effects and eagerly await the arrival of electric airplanes.

Noise plane engines

Spatial planning

The big question remains: "Are airports in densely populated areas the future?" At Ostend Airport, there are complaints from residents about damage to their roof tiles caused by the vortex created by airplanes.

While airports often want to expand to meet the growing demand for air travel, residents often seek protection from the significant disruption they experience.

Brussels Airport

In a nutshell

Whether airports like those in Antwerp, Liège or Ostend are suitable in densely populated areas depends on how well all these challenges are addressed and how a balance is reached between economic growth and the needs of residents.

Many residents living near airports are looking forward to the arrival of electrically powered aircraft. These aircraft can solve various challenges and mitigate the controversy.

Enjoy your flight and see you soon!


By: Rico Valkenborgh | January 10, 2024


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