No decision on more Brussels night flights for DHL

The two-day cabinet meeting failed to produce binding decisions on a number of issues, and in particular on the controversial problem of night flights at Brussels International Airport in Zaventem (Brussels Brabant).

A clear decision on DHL and the limit of 25,000 night flights per year has been postponed until later on this summer or autumn, until well after the regional elections on June 13.

Flanders will then have a new government and everybody expects a coalition without the green party.

Federal Transport Minister Bert Anciaux of the Flemish Spirit party, who was strongly opposed to an increase of the night flights, now seems to have weakened his view somewhat.

His condition is that noise pollution is substantially reduced and a better spreading of the night flights, which now particularly hit the Flemish towns to the north of Brussels.

DHL recently caused a political storm, saying it could create up to 9,000 new jobs if the company would be allowed to increase the number of night flights.
This led to speculation that this would be impossible at Zaventem and that the company therefore should move to another airport: maybe at Bierset near Liege, or Chièvres (Hainaut).

Also postponed until the safer post-election period is a decision on shopping on Sundays. The liberal parties in the ruling federal and regional coalition governments would like to change the Belgian legislation on opening hours, including a ban to open department stores and supermarkets on Sundays.

The Flemish socialist party SP.A is against this proposal. The matter will not be taken up again before June 13. Equally postponed were measures to deal with end-of-career arrangements.