During a consultation on the Balanced Approach procedure, aimed at reducing noise pollution around the national airport, a list of possible measures was presented. To the significant concern of Kortenberg Municipality, this includes the extension of runway 25L, along with additional holding capacity and taxiways for aircraft.
For Kortenberg Municipality, expanding or extending the runways is non-negotiable. A runway extension would directly shift noise pollution to the municipalities east of the airport, causing aircraft to fly considerably lower over residential areas. This would have a profoundly negative impact on the quality of life, peace, and health of its inhabitants.
These plans have also been explicitly rejected in the past. In 2016, similar plans were scrapped after protests from airport municipalities, the Flemish Brabant Provincial Council, and the Flemish Government. It was then determined that an extension solely serves to increase air traffic and offers no ecological added value. In 2023, the airport guaranteed that future activities within the 2032 vision would continue within the existing runway infrastructure.
The Kortenberg municipal executive therefore urgently requests that the plans for runway extension, additional taxiways, and holding capacity be immediately and definitively removed from the shortlist of the Balanced Approach procedure. Kortenberg Municipality has also sent a letter regarding this matter to the Department of Environment and the relevant ministers.
The municipal executive remains committed to protecting the quality of life in our rural municipality, both now and in the future.
