Customs and Defence Department join forces to keep tabs on suspicious private flights

In addition to 6 commercial airports, Belgium has around 150 smaller airfields and heliports. More than 27,000 private flights were recorded in Belgium in 2023. The Director-General of the Belgian Customs Kristian Vanderwaeren says that private flights are also becoming increasingly attractive for traffickers wishing to transport drugs or large sums of cash.

Despite these concerns, only about 30 offences related to private flights were recorded by Belgian Customs last year. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mr Vanderwaeren told journalists that private flights made it easier for criminals to evade detection. This is because, for example, their routes might not have been passed onto the authorities and can also be changed at short notice. Furthermore, private flights often have very short turnaround times, which means that they are only at the airport or airstrip for a relatively short period of time.

In addition to this, private jets can easily switch off the devices that allow air traffic control to track an aircraft’s position (transponders) and this makes them harder to detect on radar.

In future a customs officer will be stationed at the National Airspace Security Centre, where they will have access to the Ministry of Defence's radar systems. This will allow them detect and track private aircraft, even when transponders are disabled.

Mr Vanderwaeren told the press conference that “Improved intelligence will lead us to airfields where we previously lacked the resources to inspect.

The Federal Finance Minister Jan Jambon (Flemish nationalist) added that “Criminals are creative and adapt quickly. It’s a tough fight, but there is no other option. We must work continually to strengthen our enforcement capabilities.”