BELGIUM DRAFTS NOISE PLAN FOR BRUSSELS

BELGIUM DRAFTS NOISE PLAN FOR BRUSSELS    The Belgian government has drafted a compromise plan to curb nighttime noise at Brussels International Airport, insuring that DHL International can continue operating at the airport.
   “We are already making investments in new B757 freighters, which fall perfectly within the new measures,” said Guy Collette, a DHL spokesman.
   Belgium’s new Transport Minister had proposed in late December to ban all night flights in Brussels beginning in 2003. That move, made without consultation of anyone inside or outside the government, forced DHL to threaten to move its hub along with some 6,000 jobs.
   The new plan, drawn up by a government committee in consultation with DHL and Brussels airport, proposes to reduce nighttime take-off noise by 30 percent by 2003, Collette said. It also decrees an outright ban in 2004 of nighttime flights by so-called “hushkitted” planes, or aircraft that have been modified to meet modern jet engine noise standards.
   The Belgium government’s stance on hushkits comes as U.S. and European Union officials prepare for a possible dispute hearing over hushkitted planes within the International Civil Aviation Organization.