Because France requires that you report entering French FIR?
Even though they can ‘see’ you entering it, as they can with any controlled airspace over land? The UK has the same requirement, in the other direction.
Aviathor wrote:
Because France requires that you report entering French FIR?
Actually, the French ask you to report mid-Channel when you’re heading to the UK – ie. when you’re leaving the FIR.
Same thing. You need to report FIR crossing.
Actually the AIP GEN 1.2.11 says that you need to report crossing the border inbound. But outbound you are leaving French airspace so they want to hand you over to London Info (or whatever) where you may have to report border crossing.
It is kind of the same thing as when they tell you to report leaving the CTR or the TMA. They do have you on radar, but they could forget about you or get distracted.
Ok, understood, but I assume there must be a reason for this? If ATC can ‘see’ you, and you have established radio contact with them, why are you reporting what is already evident? Or is that being too logical?
There is, in some cases, a requirement to call up the other side when crossing the international border*
I’ve never seen any enforcement of this however, and it is routine to fly from say the UK to Le Touquet and (on a VFR flight) just call up LFAT tower when halfway over the water. And same in the other direction.
London Information ask for position reports because that is how they work 
and they have to pretend they can’t see you on radar because they are FISOs and thus not allowed (under trade union rules) to use radar.
* Such a requirement is of course met by calling LFAT tower at or before the border crossing – unless somebody can find a law which requires FIS to be called up.
Aviathor wrote:
They do have you on radar, but they could forget about you or get distracted.
Yes, that’s the best explanation I can think of too.
It’s fair enough, and obviously works, but when ATC has just informed you of something important like, say, traffic in your 12 o’clock, the observation that you’re ‘mid-Channel’ seems a bit silly…
Peter wrote:
hey have to pretend they can’t see you on radar because they are FISOs and thus not allowed (under trade union rules) to use radar.
Yes, I had heard this, and it does explain a lot – but the French do it in the other direction too.
Peter wrote:
it is routine to fly from say the UK to Le Touquet and (on a VFR flight) just call up LFAT tower when halfway over the water
Understood, so one can just change frequency before London Info get you first (and presumably the other way round).
I’ll check out the previous thread too though! Thanks.
The wording in the French AIP is:
When crossing the border, he (the pilot) must establish a radiotelephone link with a French air traffic organization. If the link can not be established at the border crossing, the pilot must attempt to obtain it during the remainder of the flight.
Whether it is FIS (approach), TWR or other is not specified.
That basically says you should not fly across borders, farm strip to farm strip, non-radio. And I think the above linked older thread makes the same conclusion. Which would make sense; for national security / crime control reasons you want to know who is entering, and to a lesser extent who is escaping.
