Hi. I have to fly small ultralight from LDOS in Croatia to EPBA in Poland.
I can’t find any cheap (less than 100eur) airport with can make for ma Schengen entry procedure. Mostly customs are PPR and cost 100+ eur plus other landing fees.
Maybe someone know good place? I’m thinking even about Austria to make it. I have max 200nm range from LDOS.
Szeged used to be noticeably less than 100 Euros for the customs appearance, but maybe that has changed.
Have you tried Sármellék International Airport LHSM?
I know Hungary is pathetic, that it allows these parasitic leaches to run major airports and then allow them to restrict access to C&I through exorbitant fee structures for those airports.
Why not going to LOAV (Austria)? It’s not much of a detour (about 80NM) and prices are reasonable (if any for customs, I would just check with them on the phone).
Distanze LDOS → LOAV is 180NM, I don’t know what your reserves are.
Why not going to LOAV (Austria)?
Because Austria continues to require an ELT to be installed, a real ELT, not even a PLB is accepted?
Ultralight operators/owners tend to be on small budgets, which makes ELT’s undesirable which makes Austria’s airspace “to be avoided”.
LHDC Debrecen is an option for Schengen crossing in Hungary, but may not be optimal for this routing.
Effective from today, 10 EUR is the landing fee below 2 t and there is no handling (down from ca. 80+120 EUR fees before). Some small extra charge (infrastructure usage fee) may apply and there is a noise component. Since it is a permanent immigration/customs airport, there should be no extra charges for that and there is no passenger charge for crew or transit pax. This information is from their published fee schedule, but I’m trying to get a total charge estimate from them in e-mail, since this crossing point would open up a whole new world of opportunities for me.
And as a complete picture for Hungary: there are only three airports with permanent border crossing points. LHBP Ferihegy, LHSM Sármellék and LHDC Debrecen. These places don’t charge separate fees for customs or immigration. Everywhere else immigration/customs is PPR and won’t be too much cheaper than 100 EUR, since the fee is set by the authorities.
Updated info for an immigration/customs stop at LHDC Debrecen based on the e-mail confirmation from the airport and the handling agency:
Airport charges:
- Landing fee: 10 EUR (< 2 t MTOW)
-.Infrastructure usage fee: 2 EUR/t
- Landing noise charge: 5.5 EUR (may vary between 2.2 EUR and 16.5 EUR)
- Takeoff noise charge: 4.55 EUR (may vary between 1.82 EUR and 13.65 EUR)
- Passenger charge: 18 EUR/pax (it applies because in order to pass through border controls, you will have to leave the secure airside area and pax will have to be screened)
- Parking: first hour free
Current fee schedule is published on the airport website, see B2B / Airport charges.
Handling is mandatory as per the information from airport OPS. No such notice is present in the AIP, in the fee schedule or in NOTAM.
Handing charges:
- Ramp handling fee: 15 EUR (< 2 t MTOW)
- Airside transfer fee: 3-6 EUR (if they make you park at a location where bus transfer to the terminal is necessary – probably they will, even though there is ample space just in front of the terminal an airline pax all walk)
Current handling charges available via e-mail from [email protected]
So in total, you should be able to do a customs/immigation stop for ca. 40 EUR (+/- some amount depending on the noise level) + 18 EUR/pax. Not a bargain, but still much better than what it was a year ago (ca. 200 EUR total) when I last checked. Also, this way it is cheaper than getting PPR customs/immigation at a smaller airport and much more flexible with the timing of the flight.
Post updated on request by merging in two later ones
Szeged 72 hour PPR, can be arranged, call the tower.
LHSM probably more on your route, higher landing fees, but reasonable & you can visit the thermal lake at Heviz!
(Actually, the difference in distance between using LHSM or LHUD is 10nm.)
What is the situation arriving in Hungary from within the Schengen? Are smaller airfields e.g. Fertöszentmiklos an option?
