Waasmunster, BE 🇧🇪 Closed Airport
BE-0085
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- ft
BE-VOV
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 51.12715° N, 4.06294° E
Continent: EU
Type: Closed Airport
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Mid-2013. The airfield ceased operations following a definitive ruling by the Belgian Council of State (Raad van State) on June 11, 2013, which annulled its operating permit.
The closure was the result of a prolonged legal dispute. The primary reasons for the permit's annulment were environmental and zoning issues. Key factors included:
1. **Noise Pollution:** Persistent complaints from local residents about the noise generated by the ultralight aircraft.
2. **Zoning Incompatibility:** The airfield was located in an area designated as 'waardevol agrarisch gebied' (valuable agricultural land), and the court ruled that an airfield was not a compatible use for this type of zoning.
3. **Local Opposition:** There was significant and organized opposition to the airfield from both local residents and the municipal government of Waasmunster.
The site has been completely decommissioned and returned to its original agricultural state. The hangars and any other airfield infrastructure have been removed. Current satellite imagery shows the land is being actively farmed, with only a very faint outline of the former grass runway visible in the fields.
Waasmunster Airfield was a private airstrip used exclusively for recreational ultralight (ULM/MLA - Ultralight Motorized/Microlight Aircraft) aviation. It was operated by the VZW ULM-Club Waasmunster and featured a single grass runway (approximately 300 meters long) and a hangar. The airfield served as a home base for a small community of local aviation enthusiasts. It never handled commercial, cargo, or military operations. Its entire operational history, likely starting in the late 1990s, was marked by legal challenges regarding its permits.
There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Waasmunster Airfield. The definitive and final ruling by Belgium's highest administrative court, combined with the strong, sustained local opposition and strict zoning laws, makes the possibility of obtaining a new permit for aviation activities on this site virtually zero.
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