KSNA and KDCA are very similar in how they operate. I was based at KSNA with an airline. All departures stopped at 10:00PM and all arrivals stopped at 11:00 PM for jets. That was because of noise abatement policies. The tower was then closed and it became an uncontrolled airport. I have landed after 11:00 many times in twin props with no tower. Once in a Citation but that's another story. We were very quiet. Going from controlled to uncontrolled was a non event. I know this is a little different because it is a jet airliner but can't believe some European pilots have such a hard time grasping these pilots had to deal with a non operating tower when it was supposed to be operating. They landed after discussing the situation with approach and approach approving the procedure. 95% of our US pilots would have done the same thing.
Discussions like this make me so happy I flew on this side of the pond.