Local VFR flight in Greece and Touch and Go / Low Approach

You can always ask…

At GCAA public airports there’s only one landing fee for all per day ;)

I think better ask ATC on what they allow? they may refer you to flight planning, handling, immigration, customs…depending on how they view your flight, usually, it’s fine but in other places you have to land and go through X-ray machine and pay lot of dollars

I would just ask, as long as I am not landing I am surely not getting arsed about parking, handling or customs

Based on my week long flying experience from last year (September) – check the opening times of local airports, NOTAMs might be released day before. Call the ATC via phone and explain very politely what you want to do there, your planned entry/exit point and check on FlightRadar beforehand their airliner peak times and choose wisely your departure time based on previous research. When calling ATC be familiar with charts so they can sense you are not going to be a troublemaker. Worst thing can happen that they will deny your entry if you just pop-up on the radio and you need to detour or turn around.
LGSR – possible to fly in if you follow my advice and rather than the airport choose the caldera area for sightseeing.
LGPA – one of the controllers is an aviation fan so if you can have prior call and it’s him on duty you might be allowed to fly thru.
LGSO – friendly and have AVGAS so many GA plane stop here for refueling
LGPL – also friendly
LGMK – heard crazy stories but without personal experience, you might be yelled at and denied from far away they say :)

ophirmm wrote:

Hello everybody.

About to embark on a short trip over the weekend from Israel to Greece; arrival airport will be LGIR.

I assume I can go for a short local VFR flight (outside the CTR) with a flight plan but is it possible to do a touch and go or a low approach in other airports or does that require the crazy PPR processes? Namely, can I fly somewhere and then call the tower from the air and ask for a touch and go or a low approach?

Since you do not plan to land you have the freedom to do what you described.
The key thing is the airports’ operation hours.
They are all published in UTC times in their NOTAMs by ICAO code.

Nearby nice fly by airfields are:
LGST, LGKS, LGPL, LGKY, LGLE and the most Iconic, LGKJ
For Low approach (not touch n’go) in small airfields with just an ATZ (i.e. not with CTR) you do not need the airport to be open.
Just tune in at the airports’ frequency when you are in the vicinity in case someone calls you.

If you choose to visit them during operation hours and land there, you need to 24hr prior notice the local handler and expect some 100~150€ fees.
www.aopa.gr/Info paragraph 12b.

Busy airports like LGSR and LGMK have immense Jet traffic in the summer.
If you ask for a touch n’ go they might approve it but expect to be asked to hold abeam the airport for some time and if they detect that you are not “up to speed” you might get your request rejected.

Most iconic fly by is Santorini (LGSR) island caldera low level, west of the cliff (per ATC instructions).
LGMK is the toughest to get touch n’go/low approach, consider 99% sure they will not approve to approach anywhere near the airport.
LGSR and LGMK CTRs have VFR routes that you have to follow.

Make sure you coordinate beforehand your intentions with the local handling company in LGIR.
They are your local contact.

Ani wrote:

LGPA – one of the controllers is an aviation fan so if you can have prior call and it’s him on duty you might be allowed to fly thru.

The other one (female) is not and expect a bitch attitude in any request beyond standard A to B flight procedures ;-)