Admittedly European aviation is perhaps a bit too regulated in certain ways, and sometimes you need some parties to push the boundaries in order to force change. However, I can’t help but think that Ryanair maybe crosses that line…
Continue reading: Ryanair Furious To Learn Airports Enforce Curfews, Throws Fit
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Germany enforces very strict curfew regulations. Of course there would be exceptions on an absolute emergency.
Switzerland is also the same. They are quite anal in that respect, when you can’t even shower or run the washing machine after 22:00.
If the flight had not departed late and was delayed due to en route demand they may have a valid point.
I do agree with some of Ryanair’s stands on issues affecting all airlines, including atc strikes.
Well done Ryanair, caught with your pants down yet again …. flaunt the rules and suffer the consequences.
You can run your washing machine after 22:00 in Switzerland but you might have to endure a severe tutting in the lift from your neighbors and endure a short telling off from your building’s custodian.
Social norms are a terrible thing ;-p (who is doing laundry in the middle of the night in any case?)
"Berlin has a strict night curfew from 12AM until 5AM, " <-- unfortunately once again you got the curfew times wrong: it starts at 11:30pm and until midnight there's a grace period for late arrivals.
Have you met their d@&$head CEO. What do you expect. Attitude reflects leadership.
Careful Ben, or you might be getting more theoretical letters from hypothetical lawyers 😉
Until this post, I had no idea there were dedicated white noise machines. I must get one. Anyone with recommendations?
@ Jones -- Hah, there are white noise machines, but I just use an app on my iPhone, called "White Noise."
Absolutely, Willy, my mistake Mr Apple iPad’s fault …. bleeding pond hopping jet lag getting to this old codger again. Only one more LHR-DEN trip to complete for my masters.
Unlike the Gran Canaria flight Ben reported on a little while back, there wasn't a chance in hell for this one to make it. It probably never should have operated and Ryanair has no leg to stand on here. This is on them.
This is not the first time Ryanair has attempted to land past curfew at BER and then had to divert to Hannover. They ought to know better by now.
And Berlin wonders why businesses don't locate in Berlin!
If Tegel were still around, it makes sense to have a curfew. The renamed SXF should be 24 hours.
@Ed - I do my laundry in the middle of the night (actual middle of the night, not at 22) all the time either because I just came back from a trip or simply because it's the only time I have available. Never a single complaint from my neighbours though - I'm not sure how they could possibly be aware of it, we don't have paper thin walls.
In fact, there are earbuds for sleeping that are designed to play white noise all night long, while being comfortable even for side sleepers. They are a true godsend and they allow me to sleep without sensitivity to noisy distractions both at home and in a business class seat in the air. Look up "Ozlo Sleepbuds".
We all know that the German's are sticklers, for their rules and regulations (Regelbewusst). But delayed flights; delayed by a few minutes, should be granted some leeway.
Ben, you should look into research on white noise vs pink noise. I switched to pink noise (there’s an hour long “song” on Spotify that is use and it’s great).
Yes with no direct public transport links.
It’s taken them 50 years to build WSI but they have failed to deliver on infrastructure. Typical Australia.
Airport curfews are dumb. I feel bad for the people who live near airports but the economic benefits of flying are large and distributed - they should not be reduced because of the concentrated harms near the airport.
There is a company, Dohm, that makes several dedicated white noise machines. I use it at home and it has worked well for years. I use the app, White Noise Lite, on my android phone for travel.
Ryanair constantly tried to cheat their customers, lie to regulators and engage in false advertising over and over again and then whines when they're held accountable for the consequences of their own actions.
Doesn't hurt that their d!ckhe@d CEO would monetize breathing on their planes if he could.
Many airport curfews are essential. Sydney airport, for instance, is only a few miles outside the city centre and its approach is directly above some of the city’s densest and oldest suburbs. If you didn’t have a curfew, some 250k people wouldn’t sleep. As it was the 6am Emirates A380 for Dubai was may alarm clock.
Why is a curfew in Sydney stupid? Some of the city’s densest and oldest suburbs are directly below the flight path. Should the sleep of 250k people not matter?
Huh? in 2024, Berlin's GDP grew by 0.8% while Germany's national GDP contracted by 0.2%. But you're right...no one want to do business in Berlin.
Kudos to you for flagging this!
Loud, angry statements either from MOL in person or on FR's social media accounts aren't rare. Is this a marketing tactic? Or does it work at discouraging passengers from seeking EC261/04 compensation?
IDK, but FR is 100% at fault here.
There is 30 minutes of leeway. Ryanair arrived 7 minutes past those 30 minutes of leeway.
Where I live electricity rates are cheaper during off peak hours like the middle of the night to help reduce peak hour demand. Many people program their washing machines to run in the middle of the night. Most people do not live in high rise buildings so they only disturb themselves.
Why does BER even need a curfew it's a new way out of the city airport. It's wasteful to send a plane hundreds of kilometers away.
According to FlightRadar24 9H-QEN landed BER from MAN May 20 at 23:25 but then must have sat on the ground for around 21 hours as its next flight was FR1570 BER-VNQ at 19:10 on May 21. That suggests it was mechanical that was eventually fixed so that the VNQ flight was able to depart BER 1 3/4 hrs late at 20:52, but too late to meet the BER curfew. Worth a try!
Ryanair aircraft typically fly 6 sectors each day so this must have become a Ryanair crisis, losing all those missed sectors as well as paying for the diversion and the prospect of fighting EU compensation claims.
So sad, but maybe airports are delighted to be strict with Ryanair given it's reputation for its hostility to everyone it deals with.
I have a white noise machine for home with various options. The one I use sounds just like trying to sleep on an airplane (without people talking, just the engine noise).
Landings are not nearly as noisy as takeoffs. Berlin as the capital of Germany shouldn’t have a curfew.
Boo Hoo Ryanair. They tell passengers who are over the slightest amount of weight that they need to pay a baggage penalty so no need to feel sorry for them not following rules. Would not be a happy passenger to have an additional 3 hour bus ride after all of the time it would take to book buses, load luggage, etc. I flew them one time when Continental partnered with them over 25 years ago. Had a ticket issued from Continental from Newark-Dublin-London-Newark. It was all on one ticket (with the Dublin to London on Ryanair). I had to pay a few hundred dollars for my bags since they said Continental's rules did not apply. Continental ended up reimbursing me. Decided then that I would never fly Ryanair again. Always amused by the temper tantrums thrown by Ryanair in the press.
Anyone find it at least somewhat suspicious that whenever there appears to be an issue or concern in German Aviation lately, there is frequently a “Carsten” in charge? I know it’s a country-based name, but still, the odds.
Wonder how the non-Carsten operations in Germany are going in comparison…
YUL used to have a very strict "hard stop" curfew, but I think they are somewhat less anal about it now. AC used to have delay flights overnight that departed YUL late in the morning due to weather.
Whatever leeway is given, Ryanair would manage their operations to keep just within that, so that the next time there is an issue they're again asking for just a few minutes +more+ leeway and then complaining that there's no flexibility.
I'm all for allowing exceptions, but not for airlines that would then take the exception as the rule and demand exceptions for that.
This was unreasonable to begin with that they thought they could do it in time given when they took off. It is not like they had plenty of time and were in the air and the weather delayed them.
My flight on Ryanair from Tallinn to Berlin last August (the first Friday, whatever that was) was running late. I had a third row seat and could see the flight attends panicking and urging passengers to speed up during boarding and even mentioned the curfew. We would have landed in at about 12:05 am, but about a half hour before that the pilot said we would have to divert to Hannover. Of course no bus was organized and I ended up taking the 2:35 train and arrived at 5:40 in Berlin. But Ryanair flies directly to a lot of places for very low fares. Doing roundtrip to Stockholm from Poznan for about 61 euros soon with priority boarding, which includes two carry-ons.
This request for flexibility from Ryanair is very strange. My hand luggage was just 1 cm wider and they made me pay 85€.
Living under a flight path, landings seem to be noisier than takeoffs.
I think this is because they spend more time much lower when they are landing compared to takeoff where they gain height quickly and then reduce power as soon as they can.
It is definitely legal to shower or use the washing machine after 10pm in Switzerland. Some landlords ban it in their rental agreements, but that’s free market.
Sure, the American is against a rule that requires large corporations to take steps to ensure that cities are liveable for residents. It fits.
But personally, I am quite happy with airport curfews. If airports don't want curfews, they should build them in places far enough away that residents won't be affected. Despite Brandenburg being far from the city centre, it is still very much near residential areas that would be significantly impacted by this noise.
I once spent a couple of months staying in a place under an airport flight path and it was miserable. Could not relax outside, could not have my windows open.
The least we can do is let them have quiet nights.
Additionally, Berlin is not a hub airport and there is no reason for 24 hour operations.
Washing machines and dryers in most of Europe generally take a lot longer to do a load of laundry than in the U.S. (i.e. 2 1/2 hrs. for a washer and another 2 or more hrs. to dry for a full cycle). The extra time is because there is usually only a cold-water inlet for the washer, and not a boiler that runs 24/7 for hot water. Therefore, the water has to be heated before the wash cycle can begin. So starting at or close to 10 PM means you really won't be finished until the middle of the night!
Ryanair has earned it place firmly between AA and UA in the World Rankings. As bad as AA in far too many respects, however, not quite up to the standards of UA.
In essence, AA and RyanAir set themselves very low standards in the airline industry, unluckily for the gullible travellers, they fail to achieve even their own low standards.
Spot on!
The regulators shoudl reply to Ryanair complaints on twitter with similar comments.
I live beside Hannover Airport, which has flights all night and takes all late flights from German Airports that are closed overnight. No big noise issue!
Make the rule...
1. No flights can have a scheduled landing time within 30 minutes of airport closure.
2. (during wx/atc delays) No flight can takeoff to Berlin if it would land after midnight with normal flight time + 10 minutes.
Combined, that would give flights a total of at least 60 minutes of buffer time.
Sucks for passengers, but that would solve it.
Ryanair? I try to avoid flying with them at any time. The experience is so awful.
Poor passengers of that flight.
I think Ryanair tried to chance it with the airport because in case it can land at Berlin then they do not have to pay EU261 compensation because the delay was less than 3 hours.
If the flight was cancelled or landed at a different airport, then EU261 Compensation scheme is claimable for all passengers.
Just Ryanair venting frustration in having to cough up EU261 compensation when they well know that it is very likely gonna be the case due to curfews.