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An All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 was recently involved in a missed approach at Frankfurt Airport due to the facility's night curfew rules. The incident occurred early in July when the aircraft, arriving from Tokyo Haneda Airport, was denied landing permission just 18 seconds before the curfew ended.
Fraport AG, which operates Frankfurt Airport, stated: "Between 23:00 and 05:00, there is a ban on night flights. This means that no scheduled take-offs or landings are allowed. (...) The only exceptions are medical aid missions and aircraft that have to land for safety reasons. (...) Along with the ban on night flights, noise respite periods help residents living near the airport to sleep undisturbed for longer."
Discover Airlines pilot Ori Gross shared his perspective on LinkedIn, highlighting that the go-around extended the flight by 16 minutes and increased fuel consumption. He argued that enforcing such strict adherence to curfews can sometimes be counterproductive: "Pilots, passengers, the airline, and the environment were penalized for being early." Gross suggested that en-route controllers could have slowed down the aircraft earlier to avoid this situation.
