Why can't I book a late-night flight out of San Diego?
There's a curfew. San Diego International prohibits departures between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. Arrivals are unaffected — you can land at 2 a.m., you just can't take off.
- Curfew
- 11:30 p.m. – 6:30 a.m.
- Applies to
- Departures only
- Arrivals
- Unrestricted
- Enforced by
- Curfew Violation Review Panel
Meets six times a year
The short version
- Departures are prohibited between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. under the airport's use regulations.
- Arrivals are not restricted — the curfew is about noise on take-off over the city.
- A Curfew Violation Review Panel reviews breaches, decides whether an exemption applies and can assess penalties.
- Exemptions exist for medical emergencies and air traffic control delays.
San Diego International sits about three miles from downtown, and departing aircraft climb directly over the city. The airport's use regulations therefore prohibit departures between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. — which is why the last flights out are always earlier than you expect for a city this size, and why there are no red-eyes east from here in the way there are from Los Angeles.
What happens when a flight misses it
A Curfew Violation Review Panel reviews potential violations, decides whether an exemption applies, and can assess penalties. Medical emergencies and air traffic control delays are recognised grounds for exemption; operators file for those through the airport. The panel meets six times a year and publishes records of decision.
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
San Diego International Airport (San Diego County Regional Airport Authority) · Checked September 8, 2026
The 11:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. departure curfew, that it applies to departures only, the review panel and the medical and ATC exemptions.
- BackgroundNoise Management
City of San Diego · Checked September 8, 2026
Background on aircraft noise management in the city.