On 2 April, the old routes were reimplemented at EBBR, based on the residents’ demands about noise issues.

Although it is not part of our responsibilities to decide about what routes need to be followed, we believe that we must have our say if these routes have a potential impact on safety. The previous cabinet, led by Mr Wathelet, never listened to us, despite our repeated requests, and gave preference local political inputs. We therefore decided to approach the new cabinet. On 8 April, we sent a letter to Mrs Galant, explaining the safety issues at EBBR. We recommended that an independent technical committee be created, in order to tackle safety issues at EBBR. This committee must be composed of all relevant stakeholders, including pilots, represented by BeCA. Three priorities can be identified: to give priority to safety in the selection of runways (avoiding excessive tailwind component on landing); replacing VORs 07 by a precision approach (ILS 07L); and the installation of emergency arresting systems (EMAS) at the end of runways 19 and 25s (as recommended in the Kalitta accident report). Following this letter, we were pleased to be invited at the table. A. Vanalderweireldt (President) and Ch. Verleye (Executive Secretary) met with Cabinet Galant on 7 May. This meeting was a very important first step in the recognition of BeCA as a true partner in safety by the Minister. Next meeting will be planned at the end of summer..