I can confirm the correctness of the Google translation: Nothing will change from the perspective of German Customs (“Zoll”) until 31 December 2020.
Funny… Maybe worth noting although I live in a German-speaking part of Switzerland and are a German native-speaker, I have copied the Google translation for simplicity, knowing that the translation is correct.. 
I am going to print that out and keep it in the plane, for the whole of 2020
Not that it will do me any good if they interpret it differently because evidently relying on official information counts for exactly nothing in this scenario!
These posts are absolutely priceless. I wonder how many UK pilots know about this.
I am going to print that out and keep it in the plane, for the whole of 2020
Well, better check for an updated statement prior departure…
Peter wrote:
Post-brexit, any Brit landing in Germany will have to land at one of these
I don’t think that is an exhaustive list. The list comprises airports with permanent customs presence that is generally coincident (disclaimer: I have not checked every single airfield’s AIP) with the normal operating hours of the airport, i.e. if you fly there you don’t have to worry about arranging customs or immigration in advance.
Many other airfields (they number more than a handful) have an arrangement with the customs authorities for departure/arrivals from non-EU/non-Schengen countries as long as customs have been pre-notified and prearranged. For example, see EDFZ: https://my.airport.software/EDFZ?platz=EDFZ. Last time when I flew from EDFZ to LSZH, although no border police came for immigration, I had a customs officer showing up. Border police are distinct from customs where in the case of EDFZ border police come from their base in Mainz whilst customs officers come from their base in EDFH (closest airport in the state Rheinland-Platz).
Oberpfaffenhofen (EDMO), which is a Farnborough-style business aviation-only airport, says the following on their website:
Border Police Clearance
Data for Border Police Clearance for flights to/from Non-Schengen-States have to be sent at least 2 HR in advance to the Traffic Management Office EDMO. You can provide those data via your account at https://my.airport.software/EDMOCustoms Regulations
EDMO is not a regular customs airport for entry/exit from/to Non-EU-Areas. Therefore applications for Customs Clearance have to be sent normally 24 hours, but at least 10 hours in advance to the Traffic Management Office EDMO.
I cannot imagine that those flying from/to EDMO, paying for an expensive jet charter, land somewhere else first if they are flying to/from a non-EU destination.
Based on my experience, the difference with the official immigration and customs airports is that you don’t need to provide any special pre-notification as the pre-notification is done via a flight plan. On my last flight to the UK from Germany where I made a stop at EDDR to fly practice approaches, border police showed up as soon as I had parked the aircraft as they had seen my outbound flight plan to be to the UK. When I asked them how it would work for customs they said that I wouldn’t need to pre-notify them either as they would monitor the flight plans and come out for non-EU flights.
Reading the previous, the list is exhaustive unless you can 100% rock solid guarantee to have made a local arrangement at one of the “lesser-status” ones.
The Swiss pilot in that link, who got so badly busted for import tax etc, thought he had arranged Customs presence (clearly he was aware he needed Customs) because the airport told him so, but the airport gave him bogus information.
It is very important to keep in mind that Customs can (and obviously will) change the customs status of the airfields at any time. So before heading to an airfield for customs I would check the list again for any changes….
I’m referring to this list:
https://www.zoll.de/DE/Fachthemen/Zoelle/Erfassung-Warenverkehr/Befoerderungspflicht/Zollstrassenzwang/liste_andere_verkehrsrechtlich_zugelassene_flugplaetze.html?nn=297082&faqCalledDoc=297082
… where you can do customs after arranging for it …. (these are the airfields of the ‘lesser status’ mentioned above by @Peter , I believe)
Just for the sake of completeness, next of it there are the “true” customs airfields mentioned above:
Many thanks. I have emailed your post to myself and archived it on the phone
What would you regard as a definitive procedure for making sure that one of the ones in the first list knows you are coming?
I’d say that the airport desk telling you is probably not good enough. Would the Customs office reply? In GA in Europe generally, one never gets any reply from the “police”.
Well, maybe I’m a bit paranoid on this, but there is a German saying “Wenn Du dich auf andere verlaesst, bist du verlassen” which means when you rely on others you are lost (in German it rhymes nicer 
).
Getting to the point; when I fly to one of the airfields of the lesser status, I proceed as they typically describe on their website and addtionally, in the airfield list linked above, I look up the Customs authority which is overseeing the desired airfield and send them an eMail with the data of which I believe they could be of relevance (registration, departure airfield, names of persons, place of residence, approximate arrival time, whether something to declare)…. Maybe they consider this as just another spam, but at least I have done everything to notify them…
Sure, but if they have not received the email, or lost it, you have absolutely no defence. You have to get a positive response.
I had one horrid day in Italy, Padova, many years ago, and would never risk this again, especially if the fine is into 5 digits. In Italy they just refused me a landing when I was on short final (arrival from pre-EU Croatia). I sent them 4 faxes and some emails, and they were not answering the phone (during published hours).
