I have good experiences with LFMU (Béziers). Avignon is always nice as well and convenient with the hotel nearby if you need a stop-over for the night. For a simple tech-stop, I would personally to go Beziers.
Sure; but this is a special situation, and even more “special” with the French prohibition on UK people entering France. I need to get it in writing that a fuel stop is OK – even though it should be OK everywhere.
Peter wrote:
No idea how to do a “detailed gendec”.
Well, GENDEC is supposed to be this form local copy
Peter wrote:
I don’t think they “got” that this is a fuel stop.
Maybe yes, maybe not.
Emir used LFMU for his canaries trip.
Yes, LFMU is always efficient – my shortest stop was 25 min and the longest one 45 min.
LFMT is very similar although a bit higher landing fee comparing to LFMU (€50 vs €14).
I think it’s normal for OPS to ask for GENDEC this was the case way before Brexit, and I have sent customs notification or declaration every time I stopped in France but I rarely saw PAF/Douanes (maybe 1 out of 10 most of it was at LFAT)
It’s much easier to email/phone customs and fuel yourself with Total/BP or ask ATC for fuel truck, better not involve OPS unless you want parking…
Ibra wrote:
I think it’s normal for OPS to ask for GENDEC this was the case way before Brexit, and I have sent customs notification or declaration every time I stopped in France but I rarely saw PAF/Douanes (maybe 1 out of 10 most of it was at LFAT)
More or less it’s practically the same as GAR – you send it and nobody shows up
I am not doing any stop in France (or Germany – both countries ban entries from the UK) because last night my 2nd credit card was blocked, leaving me with just one working card. If that fails to work (for the fuel payment) then I am screwed beause they won’t let me depart, and by the time it is somehow sorted it will be too late to get home same day.
I did get the card “fixed” but it took 2hrs on the phone to the idiot-muppet-script CC call centre, and I don’t know how reliable it is because there were some, ahem, language difficulties
LFMT did not respond further to my comms, anyway. I suspect everybody is afraid to commit on the standard rule that fuel stops are coronavirus policy exempt, knowing that they could be stuck with a foreign pilot who cannot make the fuel pump work, etc, etc. It’s one of those things which works if you just turn up and do it…
Peter wrote:
I suspect everybody is afraid to commit on the standard rule that fuel stops are coronavirus policy exempt, knowing that they could be stuck with a foreign pilot who cannot make the fuel pump work, etc, etc.
I really doubt that. In last month or so and more than 30 flight hours and landing in 6 countries (France, Spain, Canary Islands – different rules than mainland Spain, Italy, Slovenia and back to Croatia), every airport replied and nobody hesitated to confirm required service and coronavirus rules. Initial response I got from LFMU was that PCR test was needed for crew as well but later on they corrected it, so in all these countries crews were (are) exempted.
Emir wrote:
Yes, LFMU is always efficient
We had a terrible experience at Beziers a couple of years ago. Stopped there on the way to UK from Ibiza to refuel and officially “leave” the Schengen zone. The nice airport lady met us at the plane and took us into the terminal. Then out to customs and immigration for the departure. These guys threatened to arrest me for entering France without going through immigration on the way in!! We were just following the lady in charge. They lady and the immigration guys had a blazing row for 10 minutes and then they decided to let us go. Moral of the story, dont enter the country by the “back door” by mistake.