In today’s episode of “yes, airport curfews are actually enforced,” I present to you what happened on a recent Condor flight, which missed the airport curfew by seconds, leading to an outrageously complicated rerouting (thanks to Klaus for flagging this).
Delayed Condor flight misses Munich Airport curfew by seconds
On Monday, June 2, 2025, Condor flight DE1513 was scheduled to operate from Palma de Mallorca (PMI) to Munich (MUC). The flight was operated by an Airbus A321 with the registration code D-ATCA, and was scheduled to depart at 8:35PM and arrive at 10:40PM.
However, the flight was running way behind schedule, in large part due to the inbound aircraft being delayed. Munich Airport ordinarily has a 12AM curfew, with the ability to extend it under some circumstances, all the way until 12:30AM, an exception that Condor managed to secure.
The plane ended up taking off from Palma de Mallorca at 10:52PM, over two hours behind schedule. Looking at historical data, the 756-mile journey ordinarily has a flight time of anywhere from 1hr38min to 2hr11min.
With a 10:52PM takeoff and the need to land by 12:30AM, that meant the plane had to take no longer than the shortest possible flight time, of 1hr38min. The pilots seemingly made great time, and the plane began its approach to runway 8R in Munich.
The landing gear was dropped in preparation for landing… only for the pilots to discontinue their approach. To give you a sense of how close this was, below is the aircraft’s position at 12:30AM, also when it was at its lowest altitude.
Shortly thereafter, the captain reportedly came on the PA to apologize, and explain that the airport was denying permission for the plane to land, as they missed their latest possible landing time by 10 seconds.
Interestingly, at this point the aircraft was diverted to Hahn Airport (HHN), a full 233 miles away, and not that far from Frankfurt. The plane touched down there at 1:13AM.
Passengers were in for a very long night…
Logically speaking, one wonders why the aircraft was flown all the way to Hahn, rather than to a closer airport without a curfew. Once in Hahn, passengers were in for an absolutely brutal night:
- Passengers had to deplane at Hahn Airport and collect their luggage, which took some time, given the lack of staffing
- At around 3AM, passengers were placed on buses to Frankfurt Airport (FRA), where they arrived at around 4:30AM
- Then at 6:50AM, passengers were put on another Condor flight from Frankfurt to Munich, which arrived around 8AM
- Given that passengers were scheduled to arrive at 10:40PM, that means they arrived over nine hours behind schedule, all without getting a wink of sleep
Diverting is one thing, but essentially keeping people moving throughout the night is especially rough, though I guess it’s one way to avoid having to pay for hotel accommodations.
For those curious, the initial aircraft that had diverted to Hahn Airport ended up being flown to Munich Airport at 5:47AM, arriving there at 6:29AM. So the initial plane actually made it to Munich before passengers did. One wonders if Condor somehow got an extra crew in Hahn, or if the crew was only able to fly after such a long day without passengers.
Of course logistics can be complicated, but this is definitely one of the more head scratching diversions we’ve seen, in terms of airports being chosen. Diverting to an airport, then placing passengers on a bus, and then putting them on another flight the following morning, doesn’t sound like a very pleasant experience.
Was the government being unreasonable?
As you’d expect, many passengers weren’t happy about this arrangement, and in particular, about the flight having to divert over a matter of seconds. As one passenger explained, “bureaucracy was put above common sense.”
I’m conflicted on that. Would it be nice if there were a little more flexibility, to avoid this complete pain? Absolutely, if you look at this situation in isolation.
But at the same time, airlines are also really pushing their luck in situations like this. The flight had already been granted a 30 minute extension, and then the plane took off in a way where it could only make it to the destination in time based on an absolute best case scenario outcome. There was literally zero margin for anything other than the most direct possible flight, and that just seems unrealistic.
I feel like no matter what the curfew is, you’re always going to have flights that push their luck. Just recently, we saw a story of Ryanair being furious after a flight had to divert over what it called a seven minute delay. In reality, the flight had taken off 1hr40min late, and was already granted an exception to the curfew.
Bottom line
A Condor Airbus A321 flying from Palma de Mallorca to Munich had to divert after it missed its extended curfew by a matter of seconds. The aircraft had already dropped its gear and was on final approach, when the decision was made for the plane not to be given clearance to land.
This triggered quite a complicated diversion to Hahn Airport, followed by a bus ride to Frankfurt Airport, followed by a flight to Munich Airport.
What do you make of this Condor diversion?
