Belgium’s Council of Ministers has approved Telecommunications Minister Vanessa Matz’s plan to widen the list of entities allowed to use radio-frequency jamming devices to neutralise hostile drones, launching a three-week public consultation that started on 13 December.
At present only the police, defence forces, intelligence services, NATO and SHAPE can activate jammers, but a spate of incursions that closed Brussels and Liège airports on 4-5 November—and drew NATO scrutiny—has convinced the government to extend the tool to operators of ‘critical infrastructure’. These include airports, nuclear power stations, EU institutions, Seveso chemical plants and even some prisons. The draft law would require each operator to file an incident-specific notice with the telecoms regulator (BIPT) and prove that the jammer’s activation zone is as small and brief as possible to avoid interference with aviation navigation and emergency communications.
![Belgium opens public consultation to let airports and energy sites deploy anti-drone jammers]()
Industry bodies representing Brussels Airport and the Port of Antwerp say the change is essential: drone sightings over runways have almost tripled since mid-2024, causing costly diversions and undermining Belgium’s reputation as a secure logistics hub. Multinational companies with time-critical supply chains—pharma, semicon and express freight—have lobbied for tougher counter-UAS rules after several near-misses with cargo flights.
Civil-liberty groups have asked for clear redress mechanisms, warning that blanket jamming near densely populated sites could disrupt 5G networks and medical telemetry. Minister Matz insists activations will remain “exceptional and proportionate”, adding that the proposal mirrors recent French and Dutch legislation.
If Parliament approves the law in the first quarter of 2026, airports will be able to install fixed jammer pods before the summer peak. For global-mobility teams the measure should translate into fewer last-minute flight diversions and more predictable travel times for assignees and visiting executives.
At present only the police, defence forces, intelligence services, NATO and SHAPE can activate jammers, but a spate of incursions that closed Brussels and Liège airports on 4-5 November—and drew NATO scrutiny—has convinced the government to extend the tool to operators of ‘critical infrastructure’. These include airports, nuclear power stations, EU institutions, Seveso chemical plants and even some prisons. The draft law would require each operator to file an incident-specific notice with the telecoms regulator (BIPT) and prove that the jammer’s activation zone is as small and brief as possible to avoid interference with aviation navigation and emergency communications.
Industry bodies representing Brussels Airport and the Port of Antwerp say the change is essential: drone sightings over runways have almost tripled since mid-2024, causing costly diversions and undermining Belgium’s reputation as a secure logistics hub. Multinational companies with time-critical supply chains—pharma, semicon and express freight—have lobbied for tougher counter-UAS rules after several near-misses with cargo flights.
Civil-liberty groups have asked for clear redress mechanisms, warning that blanket jamming near densely populated sites could disrupt 5G networks and medical telemetry. Minister Matz insists activations will remain “exceptional and proportionate”, adding that the proposal mirrors recent French and Dutch legislation.
If Parliament approves the law in the first quarter of 2026, airports will be able to install fixed jammer pods before the summer peak. For global-mobility teams the measure should translate into fewer last-minute flight diversions and more predictable travel times for assignees and visiting executives.
Source: The Brussels Times
