Many years ago I took a VC10 into LHR. Due to my principle passenger I was allowed in before the night ban had finished.
To be fair my Tower colleagues would probably have thought that if you were allowed in you would also be allowed out!? Military priority/exemption maybe? Further, any movement that can be made legitimately before normal day time ops resume is a bonus and helps reduce overall delays. It has been a long time since I worked a VC10 into Heathrow!!!!!
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