The CEO of Brussels Airport, Arnaud Heist, has announced that the airport is planning to introduce stricter rules for flights taking off or landing during the night.
Heist said that all aircraft that go onto the runway after 11 pm and do not have a slot would be required to return to the gate and disembark the passengers.
“An aircraft that goes onto the runway after 11 pm and doesn’t have a night slot will have to return to the gate and disembark the passengers,” the statement of Fesit reads.
This would mean that the flights that do not have a slot will either have to wait until the next day to depart or pay a fine in cases when they land after 11 pm, leading to a reduction of flights, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to Travel Tomorrow, around 16,000 flights per year are allocated night slots to land or take off between 11 pm and 6 am at Brussels Airport. However, as soon as new rules become effective, the number of night flights will get reduced by ten per cent as up to 1,600 flights per year use night slots without being allocated one.
While Brussels Airport plans to no longer allow night flights that do not have allocated slots, it has been stressed that the number of available slots for night flights will remain unchanged.
Travel Tomorrow explains that a proposal on the matter has already been submitted to the Minister of Transport of Belgium, Georges Gilkinet, and is currently awaiting a decision from the General Directorate for Aviation.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Brussels Airport has also announced plans to reduce carbon emissions. The Airport said that it is planning to replace the heating installation by the beginning of 2027 with a Net Zero Carbon installation.
Announcing the news, the Airport said that this replacement would heat the buildings of the terminal without emitting CO2.
“Replacing it [central heating installation] with an innovative alternative that does not use gas is an essential step in the journey towards net zero carbon emissions as it will reduce Brussels Airport Company’s total carbon emissions by around 70 per cent,” the Airport explained.
Brussels Airport registers a high number of passengers each year. Just recently, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that the Brussels Airport recorded almost two million passengers in April of this year, marking an 18 per cent increase compared to April 2022.
The top ten most popular destinations in April 2023 for passengers departing from Brussels Airport were Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, the US, Türkiye, France, the UK, Switzerland, and Morocco.