Belgium’s Federal Air Ombudsman, Philippe Touwaide, has released his 2025 compliance report—and the numbers are stark. A total of 6,075 regulatory breaches were recorded in and around Brussels Airport last year, including 1,317 violations of federal aviation rules and 4,758 infractions of Brussels-Capital Region noise standards. The findings, published on 25 February 2026, show repeated disregard for night-flight quotas, with 200 illegal departures by a Boeing 777 freighter singled out for exceeding the legal acoustic limit by more than 30 %.
Slot-coordination data further revealed 1,032 night movements conducted without an approved slot—evidence, the Ombudsman says, of systemic scheduling abuse. The report renews pressure on the Belgian State and Brussels Airport Company to enforce a 2025 court order restricting specific flight paths between 23:00 and 07:00. Failure to comply could trigger daily penalty payments and, in an extreme scenario, a judicially imposed night curfew.
While operational uncertainties continue to swirl around Brussels Airport, travelers still need to navigate the paperwork involved in entering the country. VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lets tourists, business flyers, and relocating employees secure Belgian visas quickly and track their applications in real time, providing peace of mind even as flight schedules remain in flux.
![Ombudsman Flags 6,000+ Regulatory Breaches at Brussels Airport, Urges Night-Flight Clampdown]()
For international assignees living near the Ring Road communes of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Zaventem, the breaches translate into persistent sleep disruption and falling air-quality indicators. Several multinational employers have already updated their hardship allowances for staff posted to eastern Brussels, citing noise-exposure data collated by the regional environment agency.
The aviation community fears that a blanket night curfew would hit Belgium’s role as a European cargo hub. Logistics giants DHL and Singapore Airlines Cargo rely on late-evening slots at BRU to feed intra-EU truck-air networks. A unilateral clamp-down could push freight to Amsterdam or Leipzig, eroding Belgium’s competitiveness.
Touwaide’s office recommends a phased solution: stricter slot-allocation audits, accelerated rollout of Continuous Descent Operations to cut noise, and an incentives-and-penalties framework that rewards airlines shifting heavy departures to daylight hours. The Federal Mobility Ministry has 60 days to respond with an action plan. (Source: Aviation24.be, 25 Feb 2026)
Slot-coordination data further revealed 1,032 night movements conducted without an approved slot—evidence, the Ombudsman says, of systemic scheduling abuse. The report renews pressure on the Belgian State and Brussels Airport Company to enforce a 2025 court order restricting specific flight paths between 23:00 and 07:00. Failure to comply could trigger daily penalty payments and, in an extreme scenario, a judicially imposed night curfew.
While operational uncertainties continue to swirl around Brussels Airport, travelers still need to navigate the paperwork involved in entering the country. VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lets tourists, business flyers, and relocating employees secure Belgian visas quickly and track their applications in real time, providing peace of mind even as flight schedules remain in flux.
For international assignees living near the Ring Road communes of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Zaventem, the breaches translate into persistent sleep disruption and falling air-quality indicators. Several multinational employers have already updated their hardship allowances for staff posted to eastern Brussels, citing noise-exposure data collated by the regional environment agency.
The aviation community fears that a blanket night curfew would hit Belgium’s role as a European cargo hub. Logistics giants DHL and Singapore Airlines Cargo rely on late-evening slots at BRU to feed intra-EU truck-air networks. A unilateral clamp-down could push freight to Amsterdam or Leipzig, eroding Belgium’s competitiveness.
Touwaide’s office recommends a phased solution: stricter slot-allocation audits, accelerated rollout of Continuous Descent Operations to cut noise, and an incentives-and-penalties framework that rewards airlines shifting heavy departures to daylight hours. The Federal Mobility Ministry has 60 days to respond with an action plan. (Source: Aviation24.be, 25 Feb 2026)
