I am a UK home pilot and will be venturing to France for a short tour, my first into France apart from an over the channel to Le Touquet and return. The intended trip is Sleap EGCV, Cherbourg, Angers, Perigueux, Perpignan return by Perigueux, La Rochelle, Cherbourg, Sleap EGCV.
What is the general procedure for flying into an airfield in France (apart from Cherbourg which would be notified by flight plan from the UK).
Do I telephone for a PPR, arrive with radio contact or file a fight plan (even though I’m now domestic).
Regards John
The vast majority of aerodromes in France are of the “public” category, meaning no prior permission nor contact is required. The French term for it is “ouvert à la CAP” and you easily check for this phrase on the “Cartes VAC” in the AIP.
Mind you that if prior permission or contact is required, filing a flightplan does nothing for that.
Also mind you that, flying in from the UK, your first landing needs to be at a customs aerodrome; but I think Cherbourg is ok there.
There have been repeated warnings that, given the increased security following terrorist attacks in FR and BE, identity checks are performed at certain French fields, even on Intra-Schengen flights. Check elsewhere on this forum.
NB for checking French fields, few websites beat www.navigeo.org
Both Corsican (LFKF and LFKB) airports I’ve visited recently require parking PPR. But, probably, that’s seasonal.
I would always check the AIP for any PNR/PPR details, even for intra-schengen flights. Such a requirement will be rare in France, for intra-schengen flights, however.
Most French “port of entry” airfields (e.g. Le Touquet, Cherbourg, Deauville) do require PNR of some sort if used as a port of entry (Customs and/or Immigration). This ranges from 2hrs (e.g. Le Touquet) to 24hrs (e.g. Bergerac). Almost everybody going to Le Touquet seems to ignore that however 
A flight plan does not serve as any kind of notification for any mandatory purpose whatsoever. Sometimes it gets used at the receiving end for your convenience e.g. it is traditional, at the bigger mandatory-handling airports, for the handler to watch the incoming flight plans and get the minibus (and the invoice!) ready when you arrive. It is also used by some handlers to “trap” a GA flight into a situation where they can be charged for handling where handling is not mandatory.
I would recommend a quick look through the “VFR Flying to Europe” presentation here It is from 2012 but should be current, except for some stuff concerning Norway and Switzerland (Schengen but not EU so need Customs but not Immigration!), and Jeppesen dropping their VFR charts in 2013.
Always check airport notams, and for VFR flight get the enroute ones too (the UK AIS Narrow Route Briefing is ideal).
I would always make contact before arriving, for the simple reason that I’d like to know what the costs will be. It’s all very fine not needing PPR, but if you turn up and are told that landing fee is €50, but there is compulsory handling, and the only handling available (because none were expecting you) is ExpensiveFBO Ltd and they charge €250, and no refuling except when organised with the club (who don’t open today), then your day might be ruined.
I tend to send a simple email a few days before hand and it cuts out this sort of problem, even if it’s not compulsory. While things work well most of the time, this can help identify the times when it wont.
Design4p wrote:
Do I telephone for a PPR, arrive with radio contact or file a fight plan (even though I’m now domestic).
Generally speaking PPR may be required for customs/immigration (if required for your flight, e.g. crossing Schengen borders), or for parking, or just because the airport wants to know who’s coming when. Slots may be required. Some countries may need PPR just for entering their airspace (I believe that is true for the KFOR sector in Kosovo, even for transit).
The AD requirements are stated in the AIP AD section (for each airport). Other entry requirements may be listed in AIP GEN 1.2 and 1.3. Before flying into a country unknown to me, I also like to read AIP GEN which may state for example specific transponder requirements (not all countries use 7000 for VFR, and in some there are different codes depending on altitude), whether overhead join is required etc. you may learn that you are (or not) allowed to use the airport outside of ATS hours, whether PCL is provided…
Despite of EASA, SERA etc there still are quite a few differences from one country to another even within the EU, and the best source of information is the AIP. The second best source of information is NOTAM.
Jan_Olieslagers wrote:
Also mind you that, flying in from the UK, your first landing needs to be at a customs aerodrome; but I think Cherbourg is ok there.
You mean immigration, don’t you?
Yes, of course.
I’m getting SO Brits on these pages…
Thanks for correction.
Actually, as we have done here a million times guys the internationally used name for an airport which is a generic Port of Entry is CUSTOMS.
So there is nothing wrong with using that term. It is used by the whole bizjet community and above.
It is only a few (very very few) countries in Europe, and probably nowhere else in the world, who separate the two functions of customs and immigration, and offer immigration alone. One of the threads is here. From memory, it is only Germany and Italy which do it on any scale. As of very recently, France does it in a very small way (e.g. Toussus LFPN is Customs only).
Also practically nobody except a few diehards knew that Germany and Italy have these immigration-only airports. I didn’t discover it until 2-3 years ago. While the UK is still in the EU (another year or two?) it is obviously handy for UK pilots – except that virtually none of them know about it
