Tangiers

I was there briefly about 5 years ago.

No problem if you’re not in a hurry, and don’t overfly the kings premises.

Approach/Tower didn’t have radar, so they frequently asked for position. Service was very professional.

The immigration/customs official came to our planes, collected the passports, and brought them back to the plane.

Refuelling was by a gasoline powered fuel pump on a trailer. It took three persons to get it working, and then a big amount of fuel was spilled on the grass, but we only paid what ended in our tanks :)

Everyone was friendly.

This is from Navbox, so I would start by making a contact

The AIP might be anything from 100% accurate, to totally useless.

There was certainly no handling required, and we calledcalled them before

I was there two years ago. Neither PPR nor handling, one could walk right across the apron. Fees were modest. Imigration police was very friendly. Avgas was available but expensive (better to pay in Dirham). It was the only one of the five places we visited in northern Africa where ATC was relly hard to understand, but even the airliner arriving behind us requested at least three “say agains” :-) Otherwise very good.

Edit: just saw Peter’s post, maybe it changed, but certainly no handling in May 2013.

Once again, the wording is unfortunate. “Handling” occurs at any airfield – every place “handles” visitors one way or another. Also, whether this handling occurs by the airport or by some third party is quite irrelevant (and sometimes not even apparent). Just because the airport does the handling in a rather “casual” way doesn’t necessarily make it cheap. Likewise, having a third party handling agent does not necessarily make it extraordinarily expensive. And finally, even if there is some dedicated handling service, that does not necessarily mean one needs to make pre-arrangements with them.

So, could we please stop that “Is handling required at xxx?”

And rather ask: “How much does it cost, all in?” And, if you like: “Is the place PPR”?

I assume PPR was required?

This must really be a British disease – for crying out loud, this is an international airport! File a flight plan and go.

Been there a number of times, though not recently. Reasonably efficient. In the old (i.e. pre-internet) days, a good place to copy the VFR routes off a wall map in the office. Probably still a good place for a chat with the guys there for not-so-offical info if continuing on further into Morocco. If departing back to Spain, make sure you tell the fueller – gets you a discount for an international flight (IOW no tax). The Moroccans want you to enter and exit their FIR via an intersection (even VFR), coming from the Malaga area it’s usually GALTO, if memory serves. Raising anyone on the radio can be a challenge if low-level, you may have to relay through Tetuan tower. Not a issue if approaching from the Jerez area. Then again, nobody seems to care too much….

If you don’t want to go into town, there’s something called the ’Grotto of Hercules’ not far, best grilled sardines – ever!

Once again, the wording is unfortunate.

I fully expected this rant 8-)

So to be precise, we were handled by the airport staff, we didn’t contract any specialized handling agency. I don’t remember the exact cost, but it wasn’t outrageous (but I’m also prepared to pay a bit more than 5 Pound).

Fuel was cheaper than in Spain, but not dramatically so. And yes, it might be advantageous to pay in Dirham.