{"id":20159,"date":"2022-10-26T07:26:46","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T11:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=20159"},"modified":"2022-10-27T01:54:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T05:54:56","slug":"germany-dont-like-it-if-youre-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/germany-dont-like-it-if-youre-late\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany don’t like it if you’re late"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is an old stereotype about Germans blocking poolside seats with their towels so others can\u2019t use them. Well, it turns out they do something similar at their airports – sticking strict night flight restrictions and curfews on them so no-one else can use them until morning.<\/p>\n

OK, that isn\u2019t actually remotely similar, but the bit about the night flight restrictions is, so we thought a little refresher on them might be handy since we are heading into Christmas market season soon and Germany is one of the very best spots for that.<\/p>\n

Why do they have such strict restrictions and curfews?<\/h4>\n

Noise mainly. They like their people to get a good nights sleep.<\/p>\n

What do the restrictions look like?<\/h4>\n

It differs from airport to airport depending on the laziness of the locals (that’s a joke),<\/em> but in general it looks like a strict cut-off time followed by no flying at night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can find them in the Aerodrome bit of the AIP.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"

There it is.<\/p><\/div>\n

There is also a very handy tool on the\u00a0German Slot Coordination website.<\/a> It has info on night restrictions at IATA level 2\/3 airports, (much easier than scrolling through the AIP).<\/p>\n

But here is a brief look at some of the main airports and their restrictions (all times in local)\u00a0<\/em>to give you an idea:<\/p>\n

EDDH\/Hamburg<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The restriction is from 23:00-06:00<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are scheduled to land before 23:00 and you\u2019ve got a really good reason (ie not your fault you’re late), then they do have some special regulations allowing flights to take off and and up to midnight.<\/p>\n

EDDB\/Berlin<\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

Berlin\u2019s retraction is 00:00-05:00<\/strong>\u00a0for all regular scheduled flights.<\/p>\n

They have a reduced number of movements between 23:00 and midnight, and between 05:00 and 06:00 (31 movements are allowed), and they reserve 05:00-05:30 and 23:30-00:00 for delayed flights only.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EDDP\/Leipzig<\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

23:30-05:30<\/strong> with a 30 minute window either side for late flights.<\/p>\n

Cargo flights have no restriction but no, you can\u2019t call passengers cargo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

EDDL\/Dusseldorf<\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

22:00-06:00<\/strong>, but they allow landings up to 23:00 (up to 23:30 if you\u2019re on their \u201cbonus\u201d list)<\/p>\n

You can also get in even later\/earlier if Dusseldorf is a proper maintenance base for you (basically a home base)<\/p>\n

EDDF\/Frankfurt<\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

23:00-05:00<\/strong><\/p>\n

Frankfurt has a bunch of special regulations based on your noise certs, scheduled movement restrictions, if you\u2019re trying to land on the north-west runway. Basically\u2026. 11pm to 5am is going to apply unless you\u2019re lucky or special.<\/p>\n

EDDS\/Stuttgart<\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

22:00-06:00<\/strong>,\u00a0but you\u2019ve got a 30 minute lateness window for landing.<\/p>\n

There are some different exemptions if you\u2019re a prop aircraft for example.<\/p>\n

EDDM\/Munich<\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

10pm to 6am<\/strong> as part of a \u2018modern, restrictive noise quota system\u2019.<\/p>\n

That noise thing can win you a spot of their bonus list<\/strong> which means you might be able to land within the restricted hours (but probably not between midnight and 5am which is their \u2018core night\u2019 period).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s \u201cnoisy\u201d?\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Well, again it differs from airport to airport but generally something around the 75dB[A] mark is what the likes of EDDM\/Munich measure.<\/p>\n

But then they say this, so we aren\u2019t really sure:<\/p>\n

\"\"You\u2019re better checking it directly at the airport than us trying to summarise them all.<\/p>\n

What is the bonus list?<\/h4>\n

It is something published by the “Bundesministrium f\u00fcr Verkehr, Bau und Wohnungswesen”<\/em> and basically lists a bunch of types which are exempt from the noise regulations. We can’t find it, but we do know that the B737-600\/700\/800 is included on it, if that helps anyone.<\/p>\n

\"\"

We read it here<\/p><\/div>\n

Who is restricted?<\/h4>\n

Probably you. The restrictions reply to pretty much everyone, save a few exceptions.<\/p>\n

These are the exceptions (that we know of):<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Emergency diversions<\/li>\n
  • Flights needing to use them as an alternate due weather, tech or safety reasons (that doesn\u2019t mean planning them as weather alternates after hours though)<\/li>\n
  • Disaster relief flight<\/li>\n
  • Medical flights<\/li>\n
  • Search and rescue flights<\/li>\n
  • Police flights<\/li>\n
  • Mail flights<\/li>\n
  • Flights that have special permits pre-arranged<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    What do I do if I\u2019m late?<\/b><\/p>\n

    Well, try not to be, but if you really can\u2019t help it\u2026<\/p>\n

    Whatever the lateness reason, getting a message to your handler at the airport to help pre-arrange things is probably a good idea.<\/p>\n

    These are strict curfews though, there ain’t no wiggle room.<\/strong> The only way you’ll be getting in inside of them is if it is a genuine emergency.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • If you are delayed en-route then chances are you will not be cleared the arrival or approach and will be sent on a diversion elsewhere<\/li>\n
    • If you are on the arrival this doesn’t mean you’ll definitely be allowed to land<\/li>\n
    • If you are on the approach then you may not be given landing clearance. Harsh, but I’ve heard it happening<\/li>\n
    • If you have been cleared to land then you have been cleared to land and all should be good<\/li>\n
    • If you end up flying a missed approach then whether they can accept you for a second approach and landing depends on the situation. No ATC is going to prioritise a noise curfew over safety, but, we’ll say it again, those curfews are strict! It may need to be an emergency<\/li>\n
    • If you are delayed on the ground then you’re not going anywhere<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      When considering alternates, remember it isn’t just in Germany – there are several spots in Europe with similar restrictions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      There is an old stereotype about Germans blocking poolside seats with their towels so others…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":20200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[770],"class_list":{"0":"post-20159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-briefings","8":"tag-germany"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20159"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20205,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20159\/revisions\/20205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}