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Question for the Greek experts

It is indeed a logistical nightmare if you fly in from abroad, especially if you are used in flying at the “north of the Alps” region where GA works flawlessly.

For us locals its not such a big hassle because:
A) usually we fly A to B and back to A and it does not involve customs etc.
B) we will not hesitate to get in to a serious dispute with CAA/Handler if we spot misconduct. Its something a “foreigner” might not do simply by feeling off homebase.

The bad thing with the compulsory handling is the extra cost.
The good thing with the compulsory handling is that this lot are your one stop shop local guy(S) for anything you will/may need. At a cost they take care of your process so, for example Customs will be there when they have too. This means that you have a small chance of delays. This is what you pay for. Also Handlers are good in English and the communication is good. Only delays MAY occur if you happen to arrive/depart during the very time the only airline passengers embark/dissembark. The handlers to not have extra redundancy crew just for GA coinciding with the airline.

For what its worth I’ll dare to say, don’t consider getting stuck in an intermediate stop a disaster. All Greek destinations you may visit are a lovely place to stop by even if it happens off your schedule.

To conclude, the most irritating thing with customs is that
a) its a 50’s national customs law (irrelevant from SCHENGEN, passport control, freedom of circulation etc etc.) that is in force
b) you pay some 30€ for them to come at the airport if they were not scheduled to be there
c) 90% of the times they will not even meet you unless they think there is a chance of something suspicious (in customs terms).
So hey have to be there when you pass from the entry airport due to the national customs law in effect, BUT, in practice, they do almost nothing.

It all sounds too hectic but in practice you will see that its much simpler if you do your homework in advance mainly due to the handler taking care of things.

If you want a no worries entry/exit and refuel, your only option from north is Fraport Kerkira (Corfu) LGKR.
Fraport add to the cost but are not a nightmare.
They operate as any properly organized European airport should.
It will be more expensive in total (i.e. ~300€ instead of ~100€) but the service will be of the quality it should (privatised airport) and you save one more stop to another airport for refueling. Your choice !

Don’t give up ;-)

LGMG Megara, Greece

Why not refuel in Belgrade or Skopje?

ESME, ESMS

That isn’t an issue AFAICS – unless trying to fly to Greece in a PA28. There is also Dubrovnik…

The issue is basically that to enter Greece you need a Port of Entry and, ideally, it should have avgas, and currently all the options are not “cheap”.

I would either swallow the cost and go somewhere central like Samos, or fly all the way to Sitia LGST on Crete. Both of these are great for flying around Greece and visiting any number of the lovely islands, with Sitia being considerably cheaper than Samos (or Rhodes which is the other option).

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

unless trying to fly to Greece in a PA28

C172 or PA28 is are the most likely candidates.

Peter wrote:

you need a Port of Entry and, ideally, it should have avgas

LGIO which is the most ideal port of entry does not have AVGAS.

Peter wrote:

like Samos, or fly all the way to Sitia LGST on Crete

Not doable in the most GA A/C unless refueling in some former Yugoslavian state where fuel is dirt cheap.

Last Edited by Dimme at 02 Oct 14:28
ESME, ESMS

My experience with LGKR and LGKF handlers is that they are totally useless, providing no service except apron transfer (100 m or so), charging ridiculous amount of money and making you wait for fuel for hours regardless exact flight schedule prearranged days before. However, that hasn’t prevented me from flying to Greece, I just avoid these two airports.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Understood that an AoE is needed for arrival in and departure from Greece. What about the other end? For example, can one depart from Italy to Greece and arrive in Italy from Greece at any normal airfield, given that Italy and Greece are both Schengen?

LSZK, Switzerland

You have to use a PoE both ways in Greece.

Greece signed schengen (amid the euphoria years ago, when 47.5% of all Porsche Cheyennes went to Greece ) but disregards it. I vaguely recall that it disregards it for “vehicles” so if you could swim Greece-Italy you would not need a PoE. You can’t walk or cycle since Greece doesn’t border with any schengen country.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

chflyer wrote:

given that Italy and Greece are both Schengen?

See www.aopa.gr/Info paragraph 13.
There the problem is explained.

LGMG Megara, Greece

Not that I fly to greece too much, but:

Above all this useless rule is a major safety hazard. Forcing pilots to fly additional routes and match timetables under stress and pressure to then undergo „on paper only“ procedures (as in practice nothing is done anyway eg customs not even showing up).
There is no benefit (security, customs, whatever) at all warranting to stupidly obey this ridiculous rule.

Maybe it’s time to send a letter with a petition to the European Commission and the relevant greek authority?

always learning
LO__, Austria

They turn up allright if you tell them you came from, or are going to, the Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Macedonia

Once, departing from a certain Greek airport, before Croatia joined the EU, I filed for Slovenia, and I will never forget the filthy look in the customs woman officer’s face because she knew perfectly well I was going to divert to Croatia

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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