At the end of last week, Ryanair called on the Berlin-Brandenburg Aviation Authority (LuBB) to relax what it considers to be an overly strict night flight ban at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). According to Ryanair, the existing ban has already affected over 2024 passengers by 10.000. The airline argues that numerous flight cancellations and diversions are due to factors beyond its control, such as air traffic control delays, bad weather, or operational inefficiencies at the airport itself.
Last year, 59 Ryanair flights were disrupted by the night flight ban. This included 30 delayed departures and 29 diversions to other airports, even though the affected aircraft were often only minutes away from their scheduled landing in Berlin. Ryanair emphasizes that it is not seeking a complete lifting of the night flight ban, but merely calls for appropriate flexibility to get passengers to their destinations more efficiently and without unnecessary disruption. The airline is particularly critical of cases in which aircraft were turned away shortly before the night flight ban began and diverted to Hanover, for example, which meant passengers had to endure an additional three-hour bus ride to Berlin.
Marcel Pouchain Meyer, Head of Communications for Ryanair DACH, called on the head of the LuBB, Carsten Diekmann, to take responsibility for the disruptions in 2024 and to take measures to prevent similar situations in the current year. Ryanair considers it unacceptable that passengers continue to suffer avoidable disruptions because the LuBB shows no willingness to allow even minor exceptions to the night flight ban. The airline warns that the authority's rigid stance could harm Berlin's competitiveness as an aviation location and calls for an immediate review of the current regulations.
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