@podair: nobody is blaming the French for using their own language. It has been like that for many years and has only caused problems with airliners, not (to my knowledge) in general aviation. Until reading this thread, I considered France the best possible country to fly to, with Germany a close second.
But we now learn that a person with good French (like myself) may still get fined, for using a “French only field” without carrying a formal document to confirm this knowledge of French, and that makes me very uncertain. Of course chances of being caught are very small on any individual sunday afternoon bimble, but I will be very hesitant to fly into any large event in France.
If you can find any solid evidence that fines have been levied on pilots arriving at ‘French only’ airfields on the basis that they have only English language proficiency recorded on their EASA Part FCL licence, please post or send me the evidence. Then we can do something about it. Otherwise, it’s just unfounded rumours causing unnecessary confusion.
this morning I read a report of a pilot on a German forum (Pilot & Flugzeug) giving details about his fines in France:
April 2013, LFAT Le Touquet, ramp check 80€ fine for missing LP French and doing R/T in French (no fine had he spoken English) – Police was monitoring R/T of arriving aircraft with handheld
May 2013 LFOM Lessay, ramp check, field PPR – 140€ fine
May 2013 LFRF Granville Mont St.Michel, ramp check, 50€ fine
As consequence he worked on a LP test French Level 4 which he got in June 2013. It could not be listed in his licence but he carries it now as a separate document which seems to
satisfy the demand of the French Airport Police.
no fine had he spoken English…
Quite frequently, on IFR flights, controllers have talked to me in French by mistake “flight number xxx descendez niveau de vol cent quatre vingt”. Since I’m quite fluent in French, I have always replied in French to those calls. But if that attracts an 80€ fine, I will reply with “say again” from now on… And no, I will not go somewhere and do a French language exam (at my expense). I’ve had enough of those at school.
I too ignore ATC calls which are in French. Usually the callsign is recognisable (and nothing else) but since one can’t be sure the right thing is to ignore the call. They quickly realise the mistake and repeat it in English.
Nobbi – please get that pilot to join up EuroGA and post details here, or (if he doesn’t want to) send them to somebody here by email (me, perhaps) and I will pass them to bookworm (who I know personally).
Or maybe I misunderstand. Were all three fines for doing the RT in French but without French LP? Or was the middle one for landing without PPR?
Peter, the fine in LFOM was for LP and not for a missing PPR (they knew that he came) as I was told.
I relayed your request to the mentioned pilot via the forum and hope he is interested to show up here.
I had Nantes approach talk to me in French yesterday, understood but asked for it in English (asking in French). Too easy to get it wrong. The fine thing is irrelevant. I have enough trouble in English. French or German too much chance of a mistake.
understood but asked for it in English (asking in French)
seems to me that “say again” as suggested by what next is the better approach – don’t even give them the slightest excuse to think you can/will speak their language. It’s a sorry situation but French authorities seem to want it like that.
If the fines reported on the other forum are true, I stand corrected. In that case we should get AOPA involved and have a way of taking French LP and adding them on other EASA licences. Absolute kafkaesque stupidity and sadly another example of some French gendarmes taking a narrow minded interpretation of the regulations. I might be a francophile but I have my share of such experiences over the years, happily however never in aviation.
Interestingly, I witnessed the reverse situation today: given the relatively fine weather, Brussels Information was quite busy, and unfortunately appeared to be operated by a beginner who could not really cope with the immense pressure. She had been holding her ground bravely, but had to surrender to Foxtrot Juliet whatever who merrily came up in French, and was quite flabbergasted when only answered in English. Though the pilot managed to blubber out some standard phrases, actually he read back the regional QNH at least three times, he never answered her question whether he would remain on frequency. Soon after , she came up with “all stations calling please stand by” , I reckon she went either to toilet or for some smoke or just to cry a bit in a silent corner. I really sympathised with her, but could do little more than to put as much warmth as I could in my voice when I told her I was switching to my field’s frequency.
