No flights with these aircraft types will be allowed to depart or land between 23:00 on Friday and 07:00 on Monday, in response to increasing complaints about noise pollution from the densely populated suburban areas of Brussels.
Major airlines affected - such as Sabena and Sobelair, which both operate the 737-200 - oppose the plan. Sabena says that it will have to immobilise one-third of its fleet during weekends, which is economically unacceptable.
In addition to charter flights, which routinely fly at night, the curfew would also affect express-courier services and freight flights. The ministry's move is seen as a step towards compelling operators to move night operations to Belgium's under-utilised regional airports at Liege and Charleroi, in which the regional Walloon government has invested heavily.
Antwerp Airport is unable to accept part of this traffic, as the Flemish regional government has recently decided to drop a plan to extend the runway of Belgium's second-busiest airport.
Source: Flight International
