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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

As a passenger, can I lodge a complaint with the Regulatory Service?

Answer: No you cannot. There is no formal procedure for passengers to lodge complaints with the Regulatory Service.

 The Regulatory Service still can forward complaints to the competent bodies (such as the FPS Economy, FPS Mobility and Transport).

As an airline company, what kind of complaints can I address to the Regulatory Service?

Answer: For the moment, the regulation has not provided for a formal procedure to lodge complaints with the Regulatory Service. This does not prevent airlines operating from and to Brussels Airport to informally lodge a complaint with the Regulatory Service when they think there are problems about airport charges and/or the quality of services provided at Brussels Airport. On the basis of its right of initiative the Regulatory Service can investigate such an informal complaint subsequently and if necessary act (under penalty).

Can a train traveller or civilian lodge a complaint with the Regulatory Service?

No. The service deals with complaints of railway undertakings and does not address to individual travellers or civilians. Travellers of national rail transport can address their remarks about the service to the NMBS or the Ombudsman.

Can the airport managing body modify the levels of airport charges just like that?

Answer: No he cannot. In principle, airport charges are fixed for a period of 5 years. The current period goes until 31 March 2011. During this period the airport charges are only adapted to the annual indexation. Only in a few and very strictly defined cases airport charges can exceptionally be altered in the course of a five-year period. In any case, any change in airport charges must be verified and approved by the Regulatory Service.

Is the Regulatory Service for Railway Transport and for Brussels Airport Operations part of the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport?

Answer: No it is not. The Regulatory Service for Railway Transport and for Brussels Airport Operations is an independent service that, for now, is still being hosted by the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport but without being a hierarchical part of it. The Regulatory Service is under the immediate administrative functional authority of the minister (state secretary) for Mobility. However, the latter has – except for some clearly defined cases – no hierarchical authority over the Regulatory Service, that is therefore making all its decisions in an independent way.

For practical and logistic reasons the Regulatory Service does make use of the services of the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport. These service mainly concern logistic services, informatics and supporting services (such as matters of staff and budget). 

Where can one lodge an appeal against the decisions of the Regulatory Service?

Answer: Regarding airport matters, both the airport managing body of Brussels Airport as the airlines can lodge an appeal against the decisions of the Regulatory Service with the Court of Appeal in Brussels (article 2 of the law of 9 July 2004 on various provisions).

Regarding railway matters, the infrastructure manager Infrabel and the railway operators can also lodge an appeal against the decisions of the Regulatory Service with the Court of Appeal in Brussels (Laws of 26 January 2010 amending the law of 4 December 2006 concerning the use of railway infrastructure, the law of 19 December 2006 concerning exploitation safety of railways and the Judicial Code on legal remedies against certain decisions of the supervising body and safety authority (chapter 2)).