Peter,
>Anyway, how can you be a Port of entry but not have Customs? That’s a joke.
The customs are one part of a port of entry, the other is immigration.
So either an airport is a full port of entry, then it has both. Or it has customs, which means just that, customs for GOODS, no immigration.
Jeppesen has it really clear. An airport can be a port of entry. Then it does have both. Or it can have customs, which means you can travel from anywhere you do not need Immigration but still need to pass customs.
In case you should fly scheduled services, you will see exactly this.
Arriving from the UK in ZRH you will first pass passport control, then you will pass customs. Arriving from Schengen, you will be directed directly to the baggage retrieval and customs, but will not pass passport control/immigration.
Hope that makes it clear.
And yes, this means that since 2004 the small airports can no longer receive or depart to non-schengen destinations.
From here
Schengen has become irrelevant: if you are flying in or out of France, you must make a customs declaration and use a customs-capable airport.
Don’t even think of trying “the sorry I did not know” line: all you win is a 4 digit fine. Ask me how I know.
So how do you know? There is no NOTAM, no official communication, no law that would require this. Some airports have published NOTAMs to that effect, but on all others I will still happily land from within Schengen. Also it would be stupid to require customs if you actually only need immigration/police.
I know from having flown from within Schengen (LSGL) to inside Schengen (LFEY).
I was greeted by the local Gendarmerie delegated by the customs authorities in Nantes.
The next day, I flew to Nantes. After a lengthy hearing, I got away with a 1’200 Euro fine, paid cash.
I have recently asked the operator of Le Havre whether I needed to advise customs prior to my arrival from Germany and they said yes: they MUST let customs know explicitly. I do not believe that they make a difference between “customs officers” and “border police” by the way.
Keep in mind France has declared a nationwide state of emergency called Plan Vigipirate. I don’t know what the legalities of this are and I frankly don’t care. I’ll do what they ask me to to stay out of trouble… this time.
AIP GEN 1.2.1
All aircraft arriving from abroad and entering the French territory should perform the first landing on an airport provided with Customs, Police and Sanitary controls. Also, all aircraft leaving the French territory abroad should have their last stop in the French territory on such type of airport.
Remark : By agreement with the Swiss authorities, French customs and immigration offices are installed at GENEVE/Cointrin; all formalities for entry into and exit from France must be carried out at these faclities.
NOTA BENE – while the english version uses the conditional should, the french version uses the imperative must.
@Rwy20 – you can try arguing with the French that Schengen isn’t “abroad”, or that the AIP isn’t an official requirement… but I wouldn’t recommend it :-)
Does this mean that France has totally suspended Schengen?
One would have to check what the previous AIP versions said with respect to Schengen, but apparently yes.
The French AIP has been like that for years (when the Schengen agreement operated without question).
It’s always been a requirement to clear customs in/out the Schengen Zone when arriving/departing from Switzerland. There is nothing new about that.
You got a fine becuase you didn’t comply with that. Schengen has never operated between Switzerland and the rest of the zone for GA traffic.
What is new, is that two airport, Colmar and some other one I’ve forgotten, have a NOTAM demanding prior customs notification.
As far as I know, the new issues are confined to those two NOTAMed airports.
I know from having flown from within Schengen (LSGL) to inside Schengen (LFEY).
I was greeted by the local Gendarmerie delegated by the customs authorities in Nantes.
You are right because you flew from Schengen to Schengen, but you also entered the EU from a third country.
If you enter the EU from outside the EU, you have to land at a customs airfield or get customs to meet you at the airport.
1200 Euro is cheap. Failing to declare customs can get pricier.
I don’t understand why this so hard to understand.
Schengen = people
Customs = goods
dublinpilot wrote:
You got a fine becuase you didn’t comply with that. Schengen has never operated between Switzerland and the rest of the zone for GA traffic.
Yes it has, but it also has nothing to do with customs.
Yes it has, but it also has nothing to do with customs.
Can you post more information, e.g. on what it has to do with?
I don’t understand why this so hard to understand.
Schengen = people
Customs = goods
That is clear but in practice you have 2 options
The 1st case is done by all goods going via Ports of Entry or other Customs posts. For example, in the UK, air freight often goes via East Midlands and everything goes through Customs checks (DHL don’t load German and American parcels onto different planes and different lorries, etc).
Taking the 2nd case, how the hell was Schengen ever going to work between its non-EU members and its EU members? Saying to people that they can travel freely but their goods cannot is a complete and total sham. What is the point of a treaty which says you can travel but the items in your pocket cannot?
Taking Flyingfish’s example specifically, does this mean that France has suspended Schengen with Switzerland (and presumably Norway too) in the sense that they want full checks on the people thus travelling, by restricting them to Ports of Entry? That is what Greece has always had for all travel across its borders.
