DHL answer due to government on night flight requirements
DHL parcel service was due to tell the government Monday how it would contain noisy flights over densely populated areas if allowed to expand its European hub in Brussels, with fears rising no compromise could be found.
“I will do my utmost to make sure an agreement can be reached,” said Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. He said he will not allow too many new flights over the capital and outlying areas, but also wants to keep DHL in Belgium to save thousands of jobs.
“The most important is to reconcile the two points of view,” he told VRT network.
The express delivery company was expected to offer details on its noise-reduction efforts, such as when it will put quieter planes into operation, while resisting demands for fewer late-night flights.
The debate on the expansion of DHL has dragged on for weeks.
Unless the company gets additional night flights, it might well pull out of Brussels and move to either Leipzig, Germany or Vatry, France.
Aircraft noise is sensitive issue, and two regional governments _ Brussels and Flanders _ object to increasing night flights over the capital and, potentially, over other towns around the airport at Zaventem, which is just outside the capital.
Unions fear that if DHL leaves, other companies that rely on its operations might leave as well.
The company, owned by Germany’s Deutsche Post World Net, provides direct and indirect employment for about 5,800 people.
