Pilots were hoping that after the EU join, things would become "easier" im terms of entry if aircraft and people.
Now, it seems like the opposite comes true.
Look at Vrsar:
B0254/13 NOTAMN Q) LDZO/QFZAU/IV/NBO/A /000/999/4509N01338E005 A) LDPV B) 1308231326 C) 1310262359 E) CUSTOMS/IMMIGRATION AND PASSPORT CONTROL NOT AVBL. AD AVBL FOR DOMESTIC TFC ONLY. CREATED: 23 Aug 2013 13:26:00 SOURCE: EUECYIYN
It looks like - having joined EU, they have withdrawn customs, thereby also withdrawing immigration (which is still required) and now they (an we) are shafted... Chapeau!
'nother one: this summer, a handful of small (non-customs) airfields (Unije for example) have been closed and unavailable. Supposedly due to paperwork issues. I don't know if this is directly related to the EU join.
A third one: Brac (supposedly in threat of closure due to minimal traffic) has reportedly increased their fees, so that an overnight stay is now in the region of 100 Euros.
Who the hell is managing these issues? I am sure these people din't know anything about general aviation. And, as I said before, the tourism industry of Croatia should step in here before it's too late. Does Croatia have something like an AOPA at all?
I was in Brac this month and paid:
Landing: €33 Parking: €12/day Handling: €43.75 Other random stuff: €30
Landing: €33 Parking: €12/day Handling: €43.75 Other random stuff: €30
I was there last year with a Citation. We paid around 200 Euros (more or less, don't remember exactly). No other aircraft that day apart from us. They can't survive from that and why should anyone subsidize them and who should that be? Croatian taxpayers? EU taxpayers? German taxpayers?
why should anyone subsidize them and who should that be? Croatian taxpayers? EU taxpayers? German taxpayers?
Probably best if it is the German taxpayers again.....
It's odd. Whenever I have been to Losinj or Brac, there were other planes around. Sometimes loads of them.
We have heard the rumours about Brac closing but apparently these surface every year, and then somebody higher up decides to not close it because they need it.
I have never seen a plane parked at Unije, ever.
I am going to check out Losinj however - if they pull Customs from it that will be really stupid.
I always thought joining the EU is a stupid idea, especially given its near-meltdown. But Croatia is after the EU grants - many € billions of them. It can hardly be the "access to markets" which is the standard reason, because import duties into the EU are so minimal they hardly matter.
I was there last year with a Citation. We paid around 200 Euros (more or less, don't remember exactly). No other aircraft that day apart from us. They can't survive from that and why should anyone subsidize them and who should that be? Croatian taxpayers? EU taxpayers? German taxpayers?
Well, according to that rationale, one would have to close most airfields in France, as they are all heavily subsidized by the chamber of commerce.
A small airport on a croatian island cannot make any profit. Nor does it have to, IMHO. Just as roads don't. It does serve a purpose and have indirect income effects, though.
Some data points for the 1400kg TB20:
Sep 2011 - Portoroz (Slovenia) - €54 for landing and 1 night parking
Sep 2012 - Zagreb - €101 for landing and 1 night parking (landing was €20 of that)
Sep 2012 - Brac - €81 for landing and 5 nights' parking (landing was €16 and parking was €7/night)
June 2013 - Losinj - €88 for landing and 1 night parking
So these airports have never been really cheap.
They are obviously priced for visitors, who will be spending €400+ on fuel on the total trip from say middle Germany (€1000 for a UK based TB20 to LDSB and back) and probably €50 on the taxis to/from the airport. There is almost no based GA on the Croatian coastline so they don't need to support that. There is some at Zagreb but clearly they get some kind of special deal. There is also a bit more inland.
I don't like paying €100 for a landing and 1 night's parking, and by all means let's all post actual charges and discuss them, but may I say that I don't think EuroGA should become another "airport slagging off site" like all the UK forums who massively slag off any airport charging more than GBP 10 - including my base (EGKA) which has been around the GBP 20 mark for ages and is now about GBP 23 and which - if you read these internet "aviation facebook" chat sites is a reason for a total boycott of the airport.
A €20 airport bill is "right" for the sort of €100 burger runs which much of European GA does. Take a snapshot of the EGKA arrivals/departures screen and you get the idea. But nobody is going to be doing burger runs to the Adriatic islands. Maybe the Italian ultralight community might, if (a) Croatia joined Schengen and (b) the airports charged €1.
The only time a €20 airport bill makes sense in the context of a trip to somewhere as nice as Croatia is if you stay in a tent next to the plane, and anybody doing that probably should announce that in advance on EuroGA because they are going to become quite smelly very quickly...
Agree, the Croatian airports are not cheap but they are good and the destination is well worth the money. As the pricing is today, it is still reasonable within the context of the overall trip cost.
Having said that, I do know a German guy who goes to Losinj for pattern flying and claims he doesn't pay anything at all.
if you stay in a tent next to the plane, and anybody doing that probably should announce that in advance on EuroGA because they are going to become quite smelly very quickly...
You're quite on the opposite spectrum with your "I-only-land-when-there-is-ILS-customs-handling-red-carpet-and-taxi-to-a-grand-hotel" requirement. Oh and I forgot about catering which you just recently added 
Nothing beats having your tent next to the airplane.
No doubt that on a long trip, paying 50 Euros more or less doesn't effectively make too much of a difference. But that 100 Euro mark is an important one. Elba learned this the hard way a couple of years ago, when they hiked their fees to silly levels and traffic dwindled almost completely. The local tourist industry made a lot of pressure on them and now they are back in the 60 Euros region. I just fear that before this happens at Brac, they will have closed the place due to the traffic having diminished from "very little" to "almost zero"...
Anyway, I didn't want this thread to circle around the Brac issue only. Does anyone (Emir?) have any substantial insight into the other two issues I raised?
I thought Brac charged a perfectly fine price for a 2.3t aircraft. I posted the price to counter the rumour about higher prices.
