Curfew Sanctions Around The World

When an airport imposes a curfew, or has a curfew imposed on it, there are normally consequences for airlines if they breach it.

Obviously emergency arrivals that could result in injury or loss of life, should not attract sanction but it appears to us that some airports and airlines are increasingly using a very generous interpretation of “exceptional circumstances” to mitigate or even avoid a fine completely.

The attitude towards breaches of a curfew vary tremendously around the world. According to the website “Simple Flying,” breaches of the curfew can be a criminal offence and lead to penalties handed down by aviation authorities. The enforcement though varies greatly in practice.

In Long Beach airport the fines are so low, ranging from $100 to $300 that they don’t deter late flights at all, whereas in San Diego there is a more draconian approach and the fines there start at $2,000 for the first violation $6,000 for the second and $10,000 for the third. The slate though, is wiped clean after 6 months and they start again with the $2,000 fine.

A testament to the effectiveness of strict and severe punishments is that there were only 82 late departures in 2022 while the airport catered for about 16 million passengers.

In the case of Belfast City Airport the fines start at £100 and rise to a maximum of £1000 for planes landing in the 23.46 to 23.59 slot. Last year we had 342 late flights for an airport that handled approximately 2 million passengers.

When you compare that with the stats applying to San Diego you might conclude that either the fines are too low or there are too many exceptions being given.

It would be fairer for everyone, including the airport, that adjudicating on the instances of late flights should be the responsibility of a completely independent body.