Yes, if we were just stopping for fuel they were putting us in a remote part of the apron and no-one would see us. There is mandatory handling which we would have avoided as well.
I am impressed how well cutoms/immigration works in Schengenland. Nothing to worry about at all!
In theory Achim is right. A purely tech stop declared as such by an airline will not mean a Schengen/Schengen flight will immediately become a non Schengen flight, but it needs to be declared such and the whole schedule needs to be known in advance, e.g. by a flight number and publication. THEN it would be possible and is done that an aircraft can operate as "national" flight when in fact it has refuelled internationally. Not all countries allow this however. The US for a start does not allow Tech Stops without full immigration/customs on their territory. Serbia does, been there done that, yet for private ops this has mainly an effect on landing fees there than anything else.
However, with a private airplane this is pushing it in my view. Unlike an Airliner which will be shown on the arrival board with the original departure point (and the non operative airport /tech stop omitted) all the AIS of the destination airport sees is the last point of departure, which was Belgrade. Therefore it is understandable that they treat it as a non Schengen / EU Flight.
Obviously this is an issue particularly if there are different landing / departure fees at the stop over point or if the arrival destination ask for payment for immigration / customs. In the latter case it may well be useful to announce the itinary beforehand to a handling agent and make sure the immigration / customs office know about it and ACCEPT it too. Not many will however forego a monetary windfall....
I would also be hesitant to operate say between 2 non airports of entry in Schengenland with a tech stop outside Schengen... same reason. If someone objects, it can become expensive very fast. For airlines this is never an issue as they don't operate into airports without AOE status anyhow 99% of the time.
Re the experience in Germany or Greece: I have nothing negative to say ever flying in Germany nor with their customs apart from that ONE experience. I have heard however that German airplanes have been hassled in Greece (and other S-European countries) recently by customs and/or immigration folks as a petty reaction to the disagreements they may have with the Eurozone biggos they blame for the deplorable state of their own countries. Anti German feeling in Greece was at a peak a few months back, on the top of the Cyprus crisis. It does however take only one or two disgruntled officials who wish to "teach a lesson" to make one heck of a problem anywhere. They know you are in a hurry, they know you are vulnerable with your aircraft sitting on their tarmac and some exploit this. Most don't.
So you say Swissport does their thing ok? Nice to know. I used to work for them years 'n years ago and liked working for them.
So you say Swissport does their thing ok? Nice to know.
not so in Nice LFMN. Swissport as handler of my friends' Piaggio Avanti II refused the OEM Piaggio mechanics (who came over from Piaggio's maintenance in Genova) to repair the aircraft at its parking position. They argued it had to be done during night time. They had no workforce to watch them during the day. After hours of discussion on the phone my friends who were in a different place in Southern France and another pilot of their company living in Nice could convince Swissport to let the mechanics do their work still in daylight ... and treat them as adults accustomed to airport environment ...
Why is it, that a form like our GAR in the UK is not widely used in other countries in Schengenland? It makes it possible to fly to the UK which is non Schengenland and fly directly to most airfields, as well as designated airports of entry. The airfield needs what is called a special arrangement with UK immigration. All that is required is a GAR form to be filed with 4 hours notice and emailed to the local police authority responsible for the airfield with no customs. It strikes me that it would be a very good solution for most countries and it would avoid a landing and take off for a technical stop/custom check where in some countries not even a passport control takes place anyway, making the effort absolutely pointless in reality.
GA Friendly Northern Italy for Customs & Immigration
I'm planning a trip to Grosseto in late October. Grosseto itself is not available to aircraft below 30 t (!), so I'll see if I can land at LIQS Siena instead. With no C & I there, can anyone recommend a GA friendly airfield in the North where we can clear customs and stretch our legs before continuing?
was that the answer you got?
Ask Boscomantico - he knows them all!
Yes, email back from Grosseto - 30 t minimum!
Unfortunately, the southwestern part of Tuscany is a desert as far as decent, hard surfaced GA friendly airports go. An old problem.
This has become even worse this year, because Siena LIQS is notamed closed, or at least is not fully available (very restricted use).
Tell me where exactly you want to go (and what type airplane you fly) and I'll see if I can find you a usable airstrip.
For your customs stop, I would recommend Cuneo LIMZ.
