Brussels Airport cheaper than foreign competitors

The use of facilities for airlines at Brussels Airport is cheaper than its foreign competitors, according to a study commissioned by the Dutch government into the competitive position of Schiphol. The study looked at 11 major airports, including Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle and Madrid, and concluded that London’s Heathrow is the most expensive.

The researchers look at the costs in charges and taxes of a group of airlines that accounted for 97% of Schiphol traffic in 2013. The cost of doing business at most airports rose markedly between 2003 and 2014, though Brussels was an exception, and its position relative to other major hubs improved as a result.

In 2003, for example, both Madrid and Gatwick were cheaper than Brussels. That is no longer the case – only Istanbul and Dubai are now cheaper.

In related news, the Inter-regional Office for the Environment (Ircel) has criticised claims by the activist group Au Coeur de l’Europe claiming that Brussels Airport is the main polluter in the region.

According to reports earlier in the week, the group released a report claiming that Brussels Airport not only had the greatest impact on the population of all airports in Europe – with 120,000 people affected by each take-off – but also the number one source of pollution in Brussels and Flemish Brabant.

“Road traffic is and remains the biggest source of air pollution in Brussels, followed by heating in buildings,” Frans Fierens, a specialist with Ircel, told Brusselnieuws.be. “The increase in air traffic has a serious and increasing influence on climate change, and it makes little difference whether the greenhouse gases are emitted at ground level or at altitude. However, for substances responsible for air pollution, the story is different.”

Aircraft achieve altitude on take-off quickly, he explained. “Emissions at altitude have less of an effect on air quality on the ground than emissions at ground level, where people live and breathe,” he said.

photo courtesy Ad Meskens/Wikimedia