A bizarre incident in Frankfurt raises questions about the balance between sensible noise regulations and sheer bureaucratic rigidity. Yes, once again, we have another incident involving the Frankfurt Airport curfew, this time an early arrival from Japan on an ANA Drealiner jet and a needless go-around.

ANA 787 Forced To Go Around In Frankfurt…Because It Was 18 Seconds Too Early

I love Germany. I genuinely do. It’s one of my favorite countries in the world, one that often exemplifies what it means for a society to function well. But sometimes, the system works too well. Or rather, it works so rigidly that common sense is pushed aside in favor of letter-of-the-law enforcement that defeats the very purpose of the rule itself.

Take this case: an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operating flight NH203 from Tokyo Haneda (HND) to Frankfurt (FRA) was forced to go around…because it arrived 18 seconds before Frankfurt’s nighttime landing curfew lifted.

Yes, you read that correctly. 18 seconds early.

Frankfurt Airport enforces a strict night curfew from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am to reduce noise pollution for nearby residents. This curfew is not new, and I understand its purpose, even though I question whether anyone who has not purchased their home before 1936 (when the airport opened) has any right to complain about noise. Even so, noise mitigation in urban areas is important, and Germany’s approach to airport noise is generally thoughtful. But forcing a go-around due to a plane arriving 18 seconds ahead of schedule is, frankly, absurd.

The ANA flight was originally scheduled to land at 5:00 am, precisely when the curfew ends. The crew likely filed a plan to arrive just as the window opened. But thanks to favorable winds, the flight shaved off a few seconds and was lined up to land just before the curfew expired. We’re talking about seconds, not even minutes!

Tower controllers, applying the rules as written, directed the aircraft to go around.

I get that rules are important. And I get that if you make an exception for 18 seconds, next week someone might push for a minute, and before you know it, you’re backsliding into regular curfew violations. But at some point, judgment has to come into play. Enforcing a curfew this rigidly results in more noise and more disruption than simply allowing a single landing 18 seconds early. If a flight is scheduled to arrive after the curfew time and arrives slightly before, it should not be forced to remain in a holding pattern or peform go-arounds.

A go-around involves throttling up to full power and flying a loop back around the airport. That burns more fuel, generating more emissions, and producing more noise for the very neighbors the rule is meant to protect. If the goal is a quiet night, a graceful 787 touchdown is far less disruptive than a full-power climb-out!

There was no safety issue. The aircraft was not early by 18 minutes, or even five. It was scheduled to land after the curfew ended and happened to get there a few seconds ahead of plan. In such cases, rules should guide decisions, not override common sense.

CONCLUSION

Frankfurt Airport forced an ANA 787 to go around because it was 18 seconds early for its scheduled landing time, violating the overnight curfew by the slimmest of margins. But in enforcing the rule so rigidly, the result was the exact opposite of the rule’s intent. This is one of those moments where Germany’s famed adherence to process outpaced the very logic that built its reputation for functionality. A society functions best when rules are applied with reason, not at the expense of it…

Do you agree?

Hat Tip: One Mile At A Time