Ryanair has sharply criticized German air traffic control after flight FR1143 from Lisbon was diverted to Hanover. The reason for the diversion was a refusal by air traffic control to allow landing at Berlin airport, even though the flight was due to arrive just 20 minutes after the start of the night flight ban. This meant that passengers flew to Hanover instead of directly to Berlin and from there had to travel three hours by bus to Berlin, where they only arrived after 4:00 a.m.
The delay was originally due to a technical fault in Lisbon, which was minimised by passengers transferring to a replacement aircraft, but caused considerable inconvenience due to the refusal to land in Berlin. Ryanair is now calling on Transport Minister Dr. Volker Wissing to take urgent measures to avoid such disruptions and to allow more flexibility in flight route planning. The airline considers the strict implementation of the night flight ban to be inappropriate when unavoidable delays occur.
Ryanair stresses that air traffic control forced passengers to take unnecessary and disruptive detours and is calling for a reform of the regulations to enable passengers to reach their destination without complications in such cases. The airline is appealing to all affected passengers to also contact Transport Minister Wissing and work towards a reform of the night flight regulations.
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