The Government adopts the strengthening of the Walloon framework governing noise standard breaches around the Liège and Charleroi airports. The aim? To better regulate the development of activities.
Following on from the amendment to the decree of 23 June 1994 on the creation and operation of airports and aerodromes, adopted by the Walloon Parliament on 24 September 2025, the Government adopted, in final reading this Thursday, the amendment to the Walloon Government order of 29 January 2024 on administrative sanctions in the fight against aircraft noise.
This reform responds to the ruling of the Brussels Court of Appeal of 19 September 2024 and marks:
- The abolition of the so-called “warning system”. This system exempted offenders, under certain conditions, from an effective sanction;
- The official regulatory recognition of the 2.0-decibel margin of uncertainty, as requested by the Walloon Authority for the Control of Airport Noise Nuisance (ACNAW);
- The abolition of the double-breach requirement. The administrative sanction will now be imposed per movement as soon as a noise threshold is exceeded at a single fixed noise meter.
Concretely, this decision marks an important step in strengthening the control and sanctions system for noise standard breaches around Walloon airports.
Alongside this revision of the regulatory framework, the SPW and the Société wallonne des Aéroports (SOWAER) are relocating several fixed noise meters at Liège airport. This adjustment to the network of fixed noise meters, approved by the ACNAW, will take effect in early November. Similar work will be carried out at Charleroi airport.
Finally, the Minister for Airports, Cécile Neven, will shortly present to the Walloon Government a new amendment to the decree and regulatory framework, including an increase in the sanction amounts for breaches of noise thresholds.
Cécile Neven, Minister for Airports: “Today we are taking a further concrete step towards an effective and credible system for controlling and sanctioning noise breaches, which local residents have been waiting for. This demonstrates the Walloon Government's determination to enable the economic development of our Walloon airports, while respecting the areas that host them.”