French IFR airports downgraded to AFIS

DavidC wrote:

I presume there will remain Class D around these airports when AFIS is in service,

In France, an AFIS can’t provide control services in the aerodrome vicinity. However, the AFIS can relay a clearance from the regional APP / ACC.
This is why you will not find an active CTR when an AFIS is on duty.
So the class D CTR on these airport has been removed permanently.

At this point RMZ areas are not implemented in France. The previous national regulations (pre-SERA) didn’t contain the provisions for RMZ.
The new temporary restricted areas act like a RMZ.

The number of ATC in France is decreasing due to budget constraints. The only option is to downgrade some airports. The industrial actions from the previous weeks were called to stop the decrease of the number of ATCO.

Downgrading an airport from ATC to AFIS cost more to the airport operator as AFISO are being paid by the airport operator whereas ATC are being paid by the French ANSP.

In France, an AFIS can’t provide control services in the aerodrome vicinity

Isn’t that true everywhere in Europe?

Even down in Greece it’s the same. LGST, LGSM… “land at your discretion” etc. No clearances.

What you cannot currently do in the UK is have an IAP without an approach controller.

Won’t France will still use a remotely located controller for the vectoring etc?

DavidC wrote:

France has nearly 160 airports and airfields, one for 358,000 inhabitants. This ratio is 1 to 1.2 million in the UK, from 1 to 2.1 million in Italy, and 1 to 4.3 million in Germany!

Is that licensed airports?

Peter wrote:

Won’t France will still use a remotely located controller for the vectoring etc?

France is going to use more and more remotely located controller to provide approach control services.
i.e Perpignan approach (LFMP) was transferred to Montpelier (LFMT) last year.

And it looks like Rodez (LFCR) and La Rochelle (LFBH) approach control will be the next.
In all these cases, tower ATC services are still maintained locally.
So for crews, this is more or less transparent.

Airborne_Again wrote:

Is that licensed airports?

Counting the “public” (ouvert à la CAP) aerodromes on this list, I get 314 (if I counted correctly). The restricted use ones are at the end of the document.

And it looks like Rodez (LFCR) and La Rochelle (LFBH) approach control will be the next.

Rodez appears to be an almost-dead airport in the “middle of nowhere”, but La Rochelle is very busy, so that’s a curious decision.

Also interesting is the move from ILS to LPV. Currently only a very small % of traffic can fly LPV. Take LFAT for example, whose ILS is due to come out. I would be amazed if as much as 5% of the IFR traffic going there can fly LPV, but all of it can fly the ILS. Maybe they worked out that 97.34% of the LFAT traffic is going there only for lunch and they go only in good wx