Peter wrote:
Is it really 2hrs?
Acoording to the AIP/VAC and also the (useless) website, yes.
But a pilot has recently reported that customs people at the field have informed him that he should have filed it 24h in advance.
Which makes at least some sense, because 24h is the standard leadtime as per Article 5 of the Arrêté du 24 octobre 2017.
But nobody seems to care about a proper AIP/VAC/website documentation there.
Yes 24h is the default PNR but Calais/LeTouquet are still on 2h in AIP, I tried to call customs to double check but it’s Friday 
having said that, the 2h PNR only make sense if you land during “normal times”, however, “in CV19 times” without much traffic, I was advised to give further notice: no fuel, no tower, no customs, no reception…will be around if you ever plan to land before 10am or after 3pm these days, so 2h PNR is probably short?
Not sure when things are “back to normal” but I would not be surprised if someone was told to send 24h PNR in Calais these days
To give a first example, if you want an AFIS in Calais he needs to travel from Chateauroux as he runs the tower over there 
To give a second example: LeTouquet, if you send 2h-PNR to PAF at 5pm and 1h-FPL to ATC at 6pm to land at 7pm don’t be disappointed that no one around, ATC & PAF will pack up at 3pm and go home if no incoming traffic is planned (not a single traffic is around the whole day), if “they have to turn up” because the “ATC/PAF boss” send them back to work again, say I decided to do UK/France inbound IFR at 6pm, then it’s probably going to be a bad day for everybody…
Same for flight plans and air traffic: random, not available, delays…and fuel: you struggle to get hold of anyone on the day to confirm if fuel pumps are serviceable
PS: no one answers the phones when you call before 10am and after 3pm
and 1h-FPL to ATC at 6pm to land at 7pm don’t be disappointed that no one around, ATC & PAF will pack up at 3pm and go home if no incoming traffic is planned (not a single traffic is around the whole day), if “they have to turn up” because the “ATC/PAF boss” send them back to work again, say I decided to do UK/France inbound IFR at 6pm, then it’s probably going to be a bad day for everybody…
I am not sure I managed to unravel the above correctly but if so, apart from being off topic for Calais, are you saying that LFAT closes early if there are no flight plans? What about their AIP operating times? It should be available for diversions if say the UK coast is fogged in. I’ve never heard of this.
Regarding Calais, my understanding is that it is the same as Cherbourg i.e. the police eventually won their battle with the airport in that French police like to make it very clear they have zero interest in whether the airport survives or not, so they want previous day’s PN. Cherbourg won’t actually close because the runway is needed for the nearby nuclear facility emergency, but Calais has no such strategic support.
This was during CV19, LFAT used to “close” early at 4pm without anything in the NOTAMS (“close” means “auto-info” and no single soul around, you can still land & takeoff or use it for diversion)
Maybe the airport was closed on the few occasions when I visited and I missed some hidden NOTAMS? or things now are probably fully functional…
Regarding Calais, my understanding is that it is the same as Cherbourg
Where did you get that info? it’s the same “owner” who manages it (Cherbourg was sold to Edeis)
For information, it’s the operator who writes those AD entries of AIP not PAF, DGAC or SIA, I would expect it’s normal for Edeis to “clean” some of those…
The “game” which French police play with airports seems to be the same right across France, especially N France, starting around 10 years ago; see e.g. here and here. It is obvious that the police want to make the point that the purpose of an airport is somewhere for them to sit, and nothing to do with aviation. Calais and Cherbourg lost that battle. Le Touquet is hanging in there because Mr Macron has a house in the town. That’s “reality”. No airport in France can win the battle with French police – unless there is a “direction” from the very top.
I don’t understand what you are saying.
@Ibra do you have any problems with the French police at airports? You seem to come in and out more than most.
They pop in from time to time at LFFK, have a chat, ask if we have any problems and maybe if they have the time, have a coffee. That’s it.
The police force that swoops in by helicopter are a different matter and are usually there because someone is doing something that they shouldn’t.
The border force are usually only omnipresent at the larger airfields or points of entry. And usually the PN24 is only a matter of a quick email with the details normally required by any border force. Usually, these days they reply but if not and I am not sure whether they got it, I give them a ring and ask. I’ve always found them extremely helpful.
One has to realise that French border force is not as large as it once was. With Schengen there was no need for it to be. Training establishments were shut down.
The staff are now deployed where they are most useful. Brexit called for more officers to be trained but they still are not up to full strength.
International GA is such a long way down the list, when it comes to border force and police resourcing, as to be negligible.
On a personal level, I too would like a GAR system which would allow me to fly direct to and from the UK to LFFK, but I don’t do it often enough to worry about it.
The “game” which French police play with airports seems to be the same right across France, especially N France, starting around 10 years ago;
There is no “game” or “direction”, first, you seem to be mixing police PAF (LeTouquet) & douanes DGI (Calais, Cherbourg), douanes had plenty of cuts from ministry of finance last 10 years, so many airports with DGI have lost their INT status and most of those who still have them are temporary via notice (you need a decree for this), when you have DGI it’s up to operator to negociate PNR and write that info up to date in AIP, Cherbourg had new private operator and new management is very different than the old one, Calais still owned by council and managed by the same guys, by far one of the most friendly airport in NW of France, I really doubt it’s 24h PNR as it seems to be suggested here
do you have any problems with the French police at airports?
Can you point where I did say I have a problem? I am just pointing “le flou artistique” in AIP/NOTAMS by the operators (which is what Bosco pointing as well), if PNR changed to 24h in Calais it has to be in AIP, do you agree or not?
On a side not how many flights you have done overseas recently in last 2 years? Have you been in Calais? do you know their current PNR notice? if you can’t answer the above questions please keep any personal remarks to yourself…
@Ibra I am sorry if you got the impression I was making a personal remark. I had read Peter’s post and genuinely wanted to know from someone if problems with French police were encountered by everyone.
As, I gathered from your posts (if wrongly I apologise) that you do these journeys more than most of us on here, which is why I directed my post towards you.
You answered my question in the first paragraph of your post above.
Again I apologise if I gave the impression that this was a personal attack.
Ibra wrote:
On a side not how many flights you have done overseas recently in last 2 years? Have you been in Calais?
Went into Calais from the UK at least 4 times last year all with just giving 2 hours notice (to arrive and depart), met by douanes 3 times and the other occasion they didnt turn up.
Nice airfield, no hassle, just emailed to copies of passports / aircraft and flight detaits etc / times of ETA and DEP to “[email protected]”
You answered my question in the first paragraph of your post above.
I never had any problem with police & customs but I had few “PNR problems” with operators in various places, Calais is definitely not one of them, I will be flying via there in two weeks, so I should have a confirmation, last time I flew was in November, it’s really no hassle neither with the operator nor customs, the airport has no “charm” around but for quick transit, I find the personel there to be a top bunch, everytime I visited !
Peter does not fly to Calais, he flies to LeTouquet (usually lands at 10am & depart at 4pm), so I would take his remarks of “no longer 2h PNR” in LFAC with pitch of salt
