Just a year ago, the operator of the regional airport (LEM) in Antwerp received a permit from former Minister Demir for a maximum of 1,000 flights using the leaded, toxic fuel avgas. “Due to mismanagement, that pool of permitted flights using this toxic, leaded fuel was almost completely used up by private aircraft after just six months. As a result, the operator has jeopardized the functioning of the coastguard. Without even reprimanding the operator for this mismanagement, Minister Brouns is now handing them a permit extension, at the expense of the health of local residents,” said sharply Green Member of Parliament Bogdan Vanden Berghe, who wants the permit extension revoked.
Avgas, a fuel that contains lead, is toxic and therefore harmful to the health of local residents. For this reason, the European Union is advising member states to no longer permit this fuel. Modern aircraft don’t fly on avgas, but the Coast Guard has one aircraft that uses this fuel. Slightly older private jets and vintage aircraft also often still fly on the toxic fuel.
The airport operator was supposed to reserve 150 of the 10,000 flights for the Coast Guard, but unilaterally terminated this agreement, much to the Coast Guard’s dismay. “The airport operator was so lavish in allowing these toxic flights that by the end of May, more than 900 of the permitted flights had already been used up. These were mainly used by the ultra-wealthy who own a private jet that still runs on avgas and by hobby pilots with light aircraft,” explains Vanden Berghe. “As a result, the Coast Guard, which often operates from Deurne, ran into problems: because the red carpet was rolled out for the polluting private aircraft, there are no more flight movements from Deurne left for the Coast Guard, even though 150 were actually reserved for them.”
Instead of calling the operator to account, Minister Brouns is now granting them permission for even more toxic flights. This makes it the second airport to receive such an expansion: under pressure from lobbying by the North Sea Aviation Center – the private jet terminal at Ostend Airport – Minister Brouns previously granted permission to allow more avgas flights. The minister has now made the same decision for Antwerp: despite the densely populated area in which the airport is located, a permit extension will be granted.
Blackmail
Emails between the operator and the coast guard – which expressed concerns about its operations – clearly showed that the operator assumed the permit application would be a mere formality and would be granted. “The attitude of the operator, LEM, demonstrates incredible arrogance and total contempt for local residents who are confronted with this toxic fuel,” said Vanden Berghe. “First, the operator failed to honor the agreement to reserve flights for the coast guard, and then they pressured the minister to increase the number of avgas flights, who simply caved in. It was a client-centric policy, tailored to the needs of private jet owners and at the expense of local residents’ health.”
Vanden Berghe emphasized that the coast guard could have operated from Ostend for the remainder of the year, where there were still some “leftover” flights, and he wanted the minister to revoke the license extension. “That the minister simply gave in to the airport operator is unheard of. Rewarding bad policy with a license extension is simply absurd.”
