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
I also love Germany. The rich history, amazing food, and culture all speak to me. It’s truly my favorite place I have ever visited.
I also do wish they’d get just a centimeter of the stick out of their behinds regarding rules. I am all for enforcing rules and being strict about them. However, just a smidge of common sense sometimes is better than rigidity. The system won’t fall apart with an 18 second deviation. I don’t think that’s a slippery slope to 18 minutes any time soon with their Teutonic attitudes.
Some people everywhere also enforce arbitrary , non-existent , imaginary rules , because some have a strict enforcement mentality . Not limited to Germany . Also true in Canada and here , for example .
@Matthew’s affinity with Germany is irrelevant to the strict enforcement issue . Some New York parking enforcement officers , some judges , some workplace supervisors , all occasionally strictly enforce their own mistaken interpretation of rules.
Thanks for the clarity on a completely unrelated tirade. I never knew anyone in North America could do that before you so graciously stated this.
@Alert: Like the thugs in black uniforms who process our entry into the USA.
@Matthew … Sure , if one is an individual ‘rude jobs-worth’ .
However , they are not ‘thugs’ ; they are our protectors . Myself , I always bow and say “Thank you” to them .
I read about your CBP experience with Heidi…very unfortunate and never should have occured. But I expect better from you in your blogging…and yes the CBP are US’ protectors.
@alert Protect from what??
As an American I am protected by Smith, Wesson, & the Constitution. I dont need no damn fruit and liquid police.
So you’re all for enforcing rules but not those you feel aren’t really rules. They weren’t permitted to land until 5am. Pretty cut and dry.
100% agree. The amount of noise etc generated by the go around is much much greater than just allowing the landing and commanding the go around creates exactly the sort of impact the rule is supposed to prevent.
The right way to do this is to establish an entry point for the approach that arrivals must cross at or after a specific time which leads to a landing after the curfew lifts. That’s the point where if your early they give you a turn in holding to adjust. But once ATC lets you past that point then you land even if it’s 18 or 60 or 120 seconds early.
Of course .
“The right way to do this is to establish an entry point for the approach that arrivals must cross at or after a specific time which leads to a landing after the curfew lifts. That’s the point where if your early they give you a turn in holding to adjust. But once ATC lets you past that point then you land even if it’s 18 or 60 or 120 seconds early.” This should work for the other option when the curfew begins, too. Although I would say 120 seconds is too lenient. I say 0-60 seconds.
I’m German – and even I find that an exceptionally excessive decision by ATC…..not to mention counter intuitive as the decision by ATC violated the spirit if not the letter of the law…..
oh and in fairness, the German media also ridicules that decision by ATC.
“ 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”
There were 6 million Jews and their families that would disagree with you.
Never forget or forgive!
One of the most disgusting comments I’ve ever seen on this site. Germany today is a wonderful country. Do you have mental problems?
@Dave: Germany learns from history. May we do the same…
Would be nice . However , simple people tend to “Believe” , rather than “Reason” . There is the problem .
The newspapers report on a herd or a mob of “True Believers” , rather than one individual speaking “Reason” .
Quite irrelevant : both @Matthew’s affinity with Germany , and for those of us with families which were tragic affected by the old Germany .
Rather , this is merely a lesson regarding someone’s inflexible rigidity .
All Americans are murderers because on their ancestors killing native Americans? The people now in Germany have zero to do with any of that. You are a sad soul.
disgraceful application of a rule.
Right. Consider the reason behind the rule(noise pollution), then see if applying the rule follows the reason behind it, if it doesn’t, allow the plane to land.
This is why those that ran the camps continued to send thousands of people into the gas chamber. Arbeit macht frei
ATC Nazis, “no landing for you”
Is there a fine or other punishment for a violation? Like a permanent record black mark?
Sounds like the controller working in the tower that morning was on a power trip. This is akin to a cop giving you a speeding ticket for going 40.1 MPH in a 40 MPH zone.
Yep.
What a click bait title.
Yes, it was. It was actaully a test…trying different approaches to titles this week. Appreciate your patience.
Same thing happens at RJOO. For Japanese carriers, it is to be expected. As we say 仕方がない
“I can’t help it” ?
The same thing also happens at Sydney. Just before the pandemic a flight from Auckland to SYD diverted to MEL because of severe thunderstorms. They sat on the ground for ninety minutes before departing for SYD, where they missed the 2300 curfew by a margin described as “seconds”, and returned to Melbourne. Not a fun night for anyone.
While it’s absolutely true that the go-around makes things worse, it is the right order if there isn’t another way to punish them to get them not to do it again. The “it” is not arriving 18 seconds early, the “it” is timing things so close that it becomes likely that sometimes they will arrive before opening. A fine would also work, or some sort of strike (such as a really big fine if it happens more than a certain number of times.) With the right disincentives, the flight crew would have been noticing that they were going to get there early and reducing airspeed at some other time along the path or whatever other steps were needed. They probably should not have a planned landing time of 5am, they should aim for 5:01 or 5:02 and that way when they are early they stay within the bounds. If you set your landing at exactly 5:00 then things like this are going to happen, and you should know that, and be ready for the penalties.
Now, if it’s a one-off or rare incident, then the ATC should indeed let it slide. But the fact that they schedule landing for 5:00 exactly suggests it’s not a one-off
So if FRA ATC lets NH203 to land just 18 seconds early, is 30 seconds early OK the next time? Then, if 30 seconds is OK, what about a minute early? And so on until the curfew deadline is irrelevant. If you have deadlines, you have to enforce them. As soon as you make one exception, other will expect exceptions.
Also, it is possible that someone will kick up a fuss and complain about a plane being allowed to land even 18 seconds early. (This is not just a German thing – there are people like this everywhere in the world and most of them seem to live near major airports). Then there would be an investigation as to why the curfew was broken, etc. It would just be easier for the ATC controller to make NH203 go around and avoid any potential hassle.
The result was a costly go-around that disturbed far more neighbors, adding far more sound pollution. The plane should not have been cleared to descend. That’s on FRA tower…
Why is it on FRA ATC and not on the pilots for failing to decelerate? This is like people that show up to check in a minute late expecting to check in like there’s no problem. Like someone said, if the nighttime curfew ends at 5 am, airlines should schedule with a buffer so even an early arrival would still be after 5 am.
The 18 seconds early causing the GO-Around probably cost thousands in fuel!!!~! The concrete mentality of the german peeps is over the top… I had a German grandfather very OCD and stubborn…
The crowded skies are getting unsafe due to many uncontrollable factors.
One minute early would be humanly acceptable. 18 seconds early could be a life saving situation.
Think hard about today’s skies situation.
Being rigid?
It was ATC’s error, for sure, but once you start bending rules there’s no point having them in the first place. Where do you draw the line? 18 seconds? Three minutes? Eleven minutes?
Much ado about nothing… FRA has rules, they were applied, end of story.
I too like Germany. I just don’t like Germans.
If there was one country in the world that would accept such rigidity it would be Japan. Germany not even close to them. Try checking in to a hotel at 1pm in Tokyo… “yes I know the room isn’t ready but can I just fill in the paper work and leave my bags?”
And “German efficiency” seems largely to be a myth too when you try catching trains which are seemingly always late.
Maybe in a computerized world the atc operator simply couldn’t press accept on the request to land. And had to respond with a go around order. “Computer says no”?
I read this on Simple Flying, too. It should be noted that the reason for the curfew is to limit noise, and a go-around at the last second to another approach and landing is louder than simply landing the plane early. I say that 30 seconds to a minute early or late is okay. If the plane is already on final approach, let them go through. A Condor A321 flight missed the curfew by 10 seconds and forced an 8-hour detour for the passengers(they were also given a 30-minute extension to the curfew for that plane, so they’re partially to blame for not flying fast enough in the A321 situation).
ANA ain’t gonna be arriving early again anytime soon. It’s the principle of the thing. I agree with the decision.
They should have let them land and fine them an amount less than the cost of the extra fuel burn to go around. Or, hear me out, make those who choose to live near airports live with the consequences of their choices and lift nighttime bans.
I love the precision of the Germans, but this is ridiculousness. I would hope it was just the decision of one man, one air traffic controller, to make them go around. But if not, then I could not live in a society with such time restrictions.
Mick has it right about dbRail (etc.). We have had so many issues with rail on recent travels to Germany that we’ve resorted to renting cars despite the much greater costs.
Germany is a failure of the west.
Germany should never have been allowed to reform.
Just look how useless they have been since the invasion of Ukraine.
It should be New Israel instead and we wouldn’t have all the problems in the middle east that we have today.
This is more proof that europe is a shithole.