Condor flight DE1809 from Olbia to Frankfurt missed the airport’s night-flight cutoff by seconds on Friday and diverted to Cologne/Bonn after the crew was denied landing clearance on final approach. The Airbus A320 had left Sardinia late because of a technical fault, narrowing the time margin to Frankfurt’s midnight deadline before the aircraft had to go around.
The flight departed Olbia at 22:39 local time after the delay and reached Frankfurt very close to the runway, but the aircraft was already past the point at which delayed arrivals could still be accepted. Frankfurt bars regular overnight operations, and landing clearance for late flights ends at midnight. Condor confirmed the diversion.
Passengers were transferred by bus from Cologne/Bonn to Frankfurt after the aircraft landed there shortly after midnight. The case underlines how tightly Frankfurt applies its night-operation rules, even when an arrival is only seconds outside the permitted window.