Ibra wrote:
Is this for terminal charges only? or IFR landing fees? are these sent by airports via EC to you in Netherlands? you should be exempt from en-route charges unless you are heavy…
I get ATC and landing charges every time I fly, but maybe that’s just coming from the airport and not EC. So what if I fly IFR somewhere and shoot an ILS. Isn’t there a fee for that, or am I wrong?
As I understand it Eurocontrol fees are only payable by IFR traffic >2 tons MTOW.
What are you flying?
Some airports break out their fees into different parts (one or more of which may be described as something to do with ATC) but these are still really just airport fees. If you’re below 2 tons you won’t get any ATC fees for just flying around – they’ll be related to the use of an airport.
Eurocontrol bills only route charges for flights formally filed as IFR, above 1999kg. See e.g. “Threads possibly related to this one” below for previous discussions. Your profile shows two types, both below 2000kg, so this won’t apply to you.
Landing fees are billed by the airport directly, and normally you have to pay it at some office there before you can depart.
A few airports, IME just a few in Germany, charge a “navigation fee” which is billed separately by the national ATC authority of that country (and usually I spent more in bank charges than the amount, paying that one, because they don’t accept credit cards).
Thanks everyone! If I graduate to a King Air I’ll revisit the topic 
Peter wrote:
A few airports, IME just a few in Germany, charge a “navigation fee” which is billed separately by the national ATC authority of that country (and usually I spent more in bank charges than the amount, paying that one, because they don’t accept credit cards)
That would be the equivalent of NVFR extra in some places in France, it’s written as “night nav fee” and separated from “land & park fee”?
Peter wrote:
A few airports, IME just a few in Germany, charge a “navigation fee” which is billed separately by the national ATC authority of that country (and usually I spent more in bank charges than the amount, paying that one, because they don’t accept credit cards).
If you’re regularly transferring money from UK to a Eurozone account and want to avoid bank transfer fees, you should look at Transferwise… very cheap, very efficient….
Or Revolut, it’s what I use for private cross-border transactions.
Peter wrote:
because they don’t accept credit cards
Ah, Germany, so advanced in some things and so retarded in others. Really frustrating they don’t take cards. And when they do, it’s mostly only those bloody German-issued cash cards.
Steve6443 wrote:
If you’re regularly transferring money from UK to a Eurozone account and want to avoid bank transfer fees, you should look at Transferwise… very cheap, very efficient….
Since Peter is based in the UK: Starling is also a good alternative. They offer a EUR account with a very low fee to convert EUR-GBP.
They also offer a debit card that doesn’t charge any FX fees, nor ATM cash withdrawal fees.
It’s a great debit card to have for the UK based EuroGA pilot.
And a great credit card is the Halifax Clarity: no FX or cash withdrawal fees either.
I wish UK Amex didn’t charge FX fees which is really frustrating. Those cards are designed for travellers yet they charge FX fees…
The last time I had hassle with this (and it would be similar with any non-Euro country) was with the DFS fees at Stuttgart, which was a while ago. But that is a different topic…
All airports I recall having flown to accept credit cards, and nowadays nearly all do for avgas too. Just some airports which are AIR BP only for fuel, and many/most French self service pumps are either AIR BP or TOTAL card only.
There is a lot of fun and games to learn for someone who is starting to venture out now, but it is definitely easier than it used to be say 10 years ago.
How Eurocontrol find you, to send you the invoice, has been an interesting discussion at times 
Reportedly they have put a lot of effort into compiling a database of aircraft flying around Europe, with data from FR24, google, you name it, and they have the names and addresses of most N-reg owners too – although a lot of the time the initial invoice does get sent to the trustee, who forwards it to the owner with a bollocking letter
Presumably Eurocontrol route charges can be paid only by a bank transfer?
