Much as we all dislike the border controls, it is fact that the political impetus in Europe is to monitor/control the movement of individuals so that the authorities appear to be doing something to combat terrorism. Whether controlling persons flying around in light aeroplanes actually achieves anything is irrelevant. And it’s game over if some disaffected crazy were to use a light plane in connection with an atrocity.
If you were a self-regarding ambitious politician climbing the greasy pole, or still worse a civil servant, with responsibility for some aspect of public security, what would you do about the escalating wave of attacks on innocent civilians? Think about it. Think about how many voters would support building a Trumpesque wall or fence around their particular country. The liberal order of our civilisation is under pressure from internal and external forces; inconvenience to apparently-affluent people’s personal flight itineraries will count for nothing.
VFR from Germany to Poland, Czech Republic, Belgium and Austria you need no flight plan when flying to an uncontrolled airport. I do that almost once a week (to CZ), and many times I do not even call FIS.
We all seem to have the same experience, the rules say passport checks have been reintroduced for Poland but no-one at the working level cares. Excellent attitude, ignore the bosses, we Brit’s should adopt it more often.
Don’t need a FP for VFR from Germany to Poland even though it crosses a FIR boundary? I’d missed that. As did Skydemon, it thought I needed one as well.
Nobody asked me for a passport at Poznan, EPPO, some weeks ago. Since it’s a civil airport there’s a security check in the GA terminal, but that’s it.
I didn’t notice anything about Poland. Flew there commercially during the NATO summit and didn’t have to show my passport on arrival or departure. I agree that Schengen has become a pathetic joke, regarding France as well for example. It serves as an excuse to not provide the needed infrastructure for meaningful air travel between small airfields, and still hassle private pilots to a maximum. I wouldn’t mind if the police shows up based on a flight plan or radar data or whatever to check passports, but the way this is implemented really needs to change.
Also, you don’t even need a flight plan to fly from Germany to Poland, so the solution would be to just fly without one if your’s is refused. Unless you were IFR of course.
I have just completed a trip UK to Poland via Belgium and Germany (I’ll post a report when I have time to type-up my hand-written notes). I have no objection to showing passport to arrive and leave Belgium, the UK never was part of Schengen. However, to get in and out of Poland (EPOP) from Germany, we had to fly via a large airport (EPWR in this case) for border control purposes because the Polish government has suspended Schengen. Our FP was refused when we tried otherwise. It wasn’t too arduous because EPWR charged only 90 something Zloty (about GBP 20) for the experience and I still get a small childish buzz from flying into somewhere shared with airliners but it did cost us in money and time by adding to the journey. The joke was that on arrival the (very helpful) handling agent said, very nicely, “We are in Schengen nobody wants to see your passport” while on departure the (different) agent did at least telephone border control to be told that they weren’t interested.
Schengen is something “they” can take-away on a whim. “They” can move their millions and our jobs at will but can limit our freedoms as it suits them.
As for a GAR to travel within the UK as described earlier, someone appears to be abusing their power.
“port of entry busting” used to be very common say 10 years back. Loads of Brits did it in France for example,usually because few people understood the system AND flew abroad.
Today, the only countries where imho there is a probability of getting busted are France Germany and, judging by the close police attention I got there, Spain.
And that is assuming they catch you before you fly out. I have never heard of someone being pursued afterwards, and eg schengen busting diversions due to wx are not uncommon 
Pilot_DAR wrote:
Bostimantico, that was our stop in Italy a few days ago, I was thinking of you! Our evening in Verona was delightful!
Only a bit too much wine, perhaps? Or what was impedimenting your keyboard actions? 
The force has not been angered. All seems at peace. No one in Slovakia took any notice of us, and our flight planned stop in Poland did not attract border control officers, even though they were invited to check our passports if they wished.
And, Bostimantico, that was our stop in Italy a few days ago, I was thinking of you! Our evening in Verona was delightful!
Definitely. You flew from outside Schengen to inside Schengen.
