Antwerp Airport remains open and continues to grow: “They pump money into a sinking ship, bury their heads in the sand” | Antwerp
ANTWERPMore flights for both tourists and business people. That is what the Flemish government is going to do with Antwerp Airport in Deurne. The closure of the airport is therefore off the table until the same 2040. The citizens’ platform Vliegerplein is still able to put a stop to it with not one but two lawsuits. “The government is having its own cost-benefit analysis done, to prove the results of which the radius is.”
The Flemish government has agreed that the airport in the Antwerp district of Deurne may not only continue to exist, but may also expand with more flights for both tourists and business people. More flights in and out of Antwerp naturally means more pressure on the environment, so Flanders is investigating whether electric flying can be used in the future and whether less sustainable aircraft will have to pay more to land in Antwerp.
Cost-benefit analysis
But in addition to the pressure on the climate, the airport’s opponents also have to deal with the financial independence of Antwerp Airport. Last summer, the government had a social cost-benefit analysis drawn up that showed that the airport cannot survive without government support. The analysis showed that it would be best for the airport to close. An alternative would be expanded to many more flights, but then environmental permits would be encountered again. Turning Antwerp into a second Charleroi is not an easy task.
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“The Flemish government itself has a cost-benefit analysis made in order to understand it thoroughly,” sighs Piet De Roeck, who speaks for the citizens’ platform Vliegerplein, which would rather lose the airport than be rich. “They bury their heads in the sand. But it’s not really surprising. The airport has only just replaced a redesigned runway. In other words, they have won 25 million euros in a sinking ship, but they do not admit that the ship is indeed sinking. That airport is loss-making, keeping it open longer only makes the pit bigger.”
Who’s going to pay for that?
The decision was made by the government on Friday, but will not be published until Monday. “I wonder what we will read next,” De Roeck continues. “Because not a word is said with which resources they want to expand Antwerp Airport. Unbelievable how the airport lobby can get the Flemish government to do so.”
De Roeck also talks about the recent expansion of the runway, which may be illegal and is currently before the appeals court. In addition, a second legal procedure will be confirmed for whether or not to extend the environmental permit for the airport, which expires in 2024. “Antwerp Airport will submit a new application next year, which we will certainly oppose. They already won that two years ago, without success”, probably De Roeck. “We believe in our cause. That airport must go, make way for a green oasis. We are strong in our shoes.”
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