If it would be „expect frequent ramp checks“ then maybe that would be good to know.
How could one know if the ramp checks were frequent somewhere or not?
The ramp check tickbox is only reporting if you got ramp checked.
The numbers of such reports are very low.
Maybe a
„GA hassle free certified“ tickbox should be added to the airport database?!
It could mean something like
- appropriate fees (no 500€ handling circus)
- easy or no security control and quick access to plane
- quick fuel and landing fee procedures
- no hassles overall
Would be a nice way to identify the few but nevertheless existing good GA destinations in europe.
The ramp check tickbox is not very useful imo. It’s too random. It could mean one ramp check every 10 years or a CAA office at the field matching a yearly quota ;).
If it would be „expect frequent ramp checks“ then maybe that would be good to know.
Updating this old thread: we now have the EuroGA Airport Database.
General thread here.
Obviously having commercial flights requires proper security, and because of the proximity of the FBO and GA parking to the CPA, this has to include GA pilots too. I don’t think anyone is going to quibble about that, they are CAA/DfT requirements and unavoidable
@Hawkwind – this is a bit off topic for this thread, but the above is true only if the airport does not bother to provide adequate segregation of GA v. CAT. So it is down to there being a will to provide a decent GA facility, starting with a separate entrance, etc.
Propman wrote:
As for the UK, airports that I once would visit regularly, now have actively discouraged GA. This happens when commercial flights start. Southend is a prime example. Since the advent of Easyjet, Southend has gone into big airport mode with security etc. Also the GA community which once was a big feature at Southend, has withered away under the imposition of large fees. My AFE flight guide says “see airport website” for info on landing fees. Go to Southend’s glossy website and you will find a very small link at the bottom of the page entitled “General Aviation”. This leads to pictures of business jets and request forms for handling. No way to find out what you will be charged unless you phone.
Hi Propman
I agree that that the Southend website is very far from user friendly for GA – however I think this is not due to ‘actively discouraging’ GA, I think rather the case is that someone misunderstood GA as meaning only biz-jets and the like! It seems that no-one actually takes the time to see it from the light GA pilot perspective anymore, nor even to actively check the web-site accuracy from time to time to make it more user friendly.
Obviously having commercial flights requires proper security, and because of the proximity of the FBO and GA parking to the CPA, this has to include GA pilots too. I don’t think anyone is going to quibble about that, they are CAA/DfT requirements and unavoidable. If the commercial flights had not re-started, who’s to say Southend would not be in the same position as the former Manston airport now?
You also mention the imposition of large fees – I believe these have still not increased since 2012 and can still be found on the web-site, albeit tucked away in a place where no-one would expect to find them! look under ‘Corporate and Community/Doing Business with us’ Southend Fees and Charges . These fees are very much inline with many FISO/ATC GA airfields around London. Yes the parking charge can be considered very steep, but only on the Main Apron; ‘Other areas’ are not too bad charge-wise.
Unlike many of the other GA airfields around London, you get 24hr availability at Southend, ILS IAPs on either end of the runway, full ATC (including Approach Radar availability during hours of passenger flights), and a ready train link to London Liverpool Street with a travel time of just under an hour. There is also a hotel/restaurant adjacent to the FBO, and car-hire in the pax. terminal. If you require a handling service, this is available, but is not required until you go over 2.7 MTWA.
And yes, GA has decreased over previous (pre-development) years, but a fair amount still uses the airport.
I think the idea of a directory is a good idea, especially if it is kept up-to date, which will be the difficult bit.
This is being looked at 
Thank you all for the suggestions. Keep them coming. We would need to do this better than anybody else.
We’ll talk again after your first visit to a field in Eastern Europe with only Google Translated info from a local language website. Slavic languages are particularly poorly supported by GT.
Today the language is a non-issue because with one click you can google translate the text, well enough, just about.
FB has this sorted, with a translate link under every posting.
And a google translation of something is better than no translation of nothing which is what you will get if trying to get people to write in a language they don’t want to speak (itself the main reason for so many national-only forums).
Exactly.
There is no lack of airport directories on the www, but the information for European fields is often limited and outdated. Creating one more would only further dilute the limited data. The best I know is eddh.de which at least often has quite recent reports about quite a lot of fields. But, yes, most reports there are in German, and most reports concern German fields.
[[ off-topic rant ]]
It is really a pity that so many Europeans will not look further than their own language. Especially Brits, French, Spanish, Italians. Scandinavians, including the deep-South Scandinavians aka Dutch will gladly, too gladly sometimes, switch to English but are all the more lost in Latin languages, often even in German. Best performers in this respect are from multi-lingual countries like Switzerland and Belgium; plus some humble nations on the edges like Portugal and Greece.
[[ / rant over ]]
