Peter, that’s exactly why Juncker, Hollande and Merckel pressure the U.K. to activate article 50 asap, and why Theresa May’s refusing to do it.
Once she has, they won’t bother with GA, they will go for the real pain point, the City and its passporting rights.
Petition against removal of immigration services from French airports
I just found the link to this petition against the closure of 13 boarder crossing airports on COPA:
The petition is supposed to be sent to the Premier Ministre Manuel Valls. I don’t know if you are supposed to be French to sign it, but I supposed not because I can choose other countries in the list, and it certainly is a topic that concerns foreigners as much as the French.
If you could well explain the ecological side effects of forcing us to make large detours and unnecessary landings for immigration checks, you might even get the support of people who otherwise oppose general aviation.
As of today, these 13 airports have already lost their status as an immigration point.
Note that this does not affect the possibility to make a customs clearance at these airfields for flights to or from Switzerland, as Switzerland is within Schengen. Otherwise, Annemasse would lose a lot of its traffic.
The interesting bit is how the French will publish these things properly.
boscomantico wrote:
Note that this does not affect the possibility to make a customs clearance at these airfields for flights to or from Switzerland, as Switzerland is within Schengen. Otherwise, Annemasse would lose a lot of its traffic.
That is very good to know, because both Annemasse and Colmar are very popular destinations, and in the case of Annemasse a lot of planes owned by Swiss owners from the Geneva area are based there after the de-facto eviction from Geneva. For them not to travel between Switzerland and Annemasse would be catastrophic.
I have done my bit.
They missed one trick however: they don’t take paypal 
boscomantico wrote:
Note that this does not affect the possibility to make a customs clearance at these airfields for flights to or from Switzerland, as Switzerland is within Schengen. Otherwise, Annemasse would lose a lot of its traffic.
Well, I am not that optimistic. The Club Aéronautique d’Annemasse states on their website:
“Au total ce sont 13 aéroports de province qui vont bientôt se voir amputer de leur statut douanier.”
This just says that the locals at Annemasse see the loss of the customs services as given by this decision.
Paul
It has nothing to do with optimism. The full message says (my bolds):
Le gouvernement a pris la décision de fermer de manière imminente 13 points de passages frontalier (PPF) répartis sur tout le territoire.
Au total ce sont 13 aéroports de province qui vont bientôt se voir amputer de leur statut douanier.
Yes, they use very poor wording (because they historically did not differentiate between Customs and Immigration, as it was not necessary).
“Point de passage frontarlier” refers to Schengen matters only, as can be clearly seen in the new publication.
Bleriot wrote:
The Club Aéronautique d’Annemasse states on their website:
“Au total ce sont 13 aéroports de province qui vont bientôt se voir amputer de leur statut douanier.”
If that happens, Anemasse is going to loose a lot of business from Switzerland. And it’s crazy to do this to an airfield which is literally next to the border and serves, for all practical purposes, Geneva.
Looks like St. Tropez and others are also off the list as of today. Well, France seems to be on a massive downwards path in terms of usability for GA. Best for us unwanted to fly elsewhere.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Well, France seems to be on a massive downwards path in terms of usability for GA.
The UK has been non-Schengen ever since. With paperwork and border control and everything. Has this had any impact on GA traffic to and from England? I would say no. One arranges oneself easily.
There is a big difference between having to fill in a piece of paper and being able to go anywhere you want, and the requirement to fly to a select few airports paying a lot for nothing
