Here's a story that you hear often. I first read it here:

http://www.airliners.net/discussions...d.main/3543335

and it quotes sources from here:

travel.independent.co.uk/news_and_advice/article2832068.ece

And this is my summary of the story:

Only July 28th (I believe; somehow the writer doesn't say when in his article), EK005 is scheduled for DXB-LHR. A 777 flight (cannot confirm if it's a -200ER or -300ER) for the relatively short 7:25 trip. 4:15p - 8:20p.

Because of extreme heat at Dubai that affected take-off performance, the flight was delayed for just over an hour to unload some cargo. It would arrive at Heathrow at 9:40p.

Now, this airplane would have turned around and departed LHR as EK006 at 10:15p. Heathrow has a curfew at 11:30p, and no flights can depart after that. Because of the delay, this flight is now at the border.

Sometime during the flight, EK at Dubai decided they didn't want to risk it, and would divert the plane to Gatwick. They would bus checked-in passengers from LHR to LGW.

But somehow, the flight crew was not alerted about this diversion. And apparently, neither was air traffic control or the Heathrow tower. So, the flight landed at Heathrow at 9:40p - its scheduled destination.

Well, if that wasn't strange enough, what happened next was even more crazy. Instead of unloading the passengers <b>at their destination</b>, and then ferry the flight to LGW - which they have plenty of time to do so to beat the curfew - they kept the passengers onboard and flew them to LGW!!! And to make things worse, the plane stayed on the ground at LHR for 1:45 probably for refueling and then to queue for takeoff.

Finally, the flight pulled in to the gate at 12:40a at LGW, <b>three hours after it arrived at LHR</b>.

Simply amazing!

Good grief!!!

And they wonder why passengers exhibit air rage?

Sorry it was late, but I mean it's a story you <b>don't</b> hear often.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Keystone Kops with airplanes.

Maybe Heathrow needs to review its curfew policies.

&lt;&lt;&lt; Maybe Heathrow needs to review its curfew policies. &gt;&gt;&gt;

Do you think that BAA set those rules - if they did they'd be 747's every 30 seconds 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

The rules aren't set by the airport - they are set by external bodies who don't like upsetting millions of voters who'd lose their sleep because of night flights

I suspect that only a small handful of people would be upset by night flights. A curfew probably results in a net loss to the region and the country, but since that is difficult to quantify it's entirely plausible that weaker minds have simply followed the seemingly easy route and installed a curfew.

I don't find airports to be that noisy these days. Some people must be extremely sensitive to every little noise.

&quot;I don't find airports to be that noisy these days. Some people must be extremely sensitive to every little noise.&quot;

...and if they're THAT sensitive, perhaps they should seek residence not in close proximity to the airport. DUH!!!

I recently ran into a strange situation at Reagan National Airport in DC. They too have a curfew - and the flight was delayed 3+ hours. When the plane finally arrived, they went to almost open seating to rush the loading of the aircraft to beat curfew!!!

To you who know so much re aviation, how many other airports have curfews???

And this curfew was at l0:00 pm!!!

&lt;&lt;&lt; ...and if they're THAT sensitive, perhaps they should seek residence not in close proximity to the airport. DUH!!! &gt;&gt;&gt;

People were there before the airport - and as anyone who has ever been to London, the flightpath into Heathrow goes over an awful lot of densely populated England. The plans for Heathrow would result in another 250,000 people being subject to substantially more noise just with normal daytime flights.

Where are they to move to? WHY should they have to move?

&quot;I suspect that only a small handful of people would be upset by night flights.&quot;

Half a million people are on the receiving end of the din Heathrow flights make at night right now, even bfore they try to extend their envelope of public nuisance. Affected to a level defined by the World Health Organisation as &quot;annoying&quot;.

And it really doesn't matter whether people on this board like the din or not. It's those half million people who vote.

I know Sydney Australia has a curfew, of midnight I believe, and there is a constant battle over incoming flights that go past curfew because of weather or delays. They schedule them right up to the second, and frequently go over.

I don't live under a main flight path but we do have a weather-diversion path that gets a bit of traffic sometimes. And we have friends who live under the main Seatac flight path in a neighborhood that's been there longer than jets have been flying. It's not a &quot;little bit of noise&quot;. It's a serious disruption.