diff --git a/scripts/ci/deploy-container.sh b/scripts/ci/deploy-container.sh
index ba804064..d57b4f42 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/deploy-container.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/deploy-container.sh
@@ -57,6 +57,25 @@ case "$CMD" in
     run run -d --name flights-web --restart unless-stopped \
       -p "127.0.0.1:${PORT}:8080" \
       "${IMAGE}:current"
+    # 5. Wait for the SSR inside the container to start listening before
+    #    returning. Without this, the next nginx-side probe gets a few
+    #    502s while Node.js is still booting — works (wait-for-url.sh
+    #    retries) but adds noise to the deploy log.
+    if [ "$DRY_RUN" -eq 0 ]; then
+      attempt=1
+      while [ "$attempt" -le 30 ]; do
+        if curl -fsS -o /dev/null "http://127.0.0.1:${PORT}/"; then
+          echo "swap: SSR ready on :${PORT} after $attempt attempt(s)"
+          break
+        fi
+        if [ "$attempt" -eq 30 ]; then
+          echo "swap: SSR did not respond on :${PORT} after 30 attempts" >&2
+          exit 1
+        fi
+        sleep 1
+        attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+      done
+    fi
     ;;
   rollback)
     if [ "$DRY_RUN" -eq 0 ] && ! docker image inspect "${IMAGE}:previous" >/dev/null 2>&1; then