Neil wrote:
We have paid almost 500 euros for handling
Where?
This whole handling crap is nothing but a mafia type scam.
These crooks have attempted to do the same in the US but unlike Europe there are enough alternatives for pilots of GA to tell them to go scratch. Only at major airports do they attempt it. However even there there is one FBO who caters to get small GA traffic in there. That is one reason Ive landed at Dulles, National, Logan, Charlotte, Nashville, Fort Lauderdale, Baltimore, Albany, Bradley, Newark , just to name a few. If I had to pay what these crooks expect you to pay here in Europe or some Central American countries it would have added up to 1/4 the cost of my airplane without VAT included.
Most FBOs provide a service and they dont see the small GA as a bother since they are there anyway and the facilities are open. Yes some 24 hrs and so is the damn airport. Imagine that. Now you can actually use the airport as a place of transportation.
Sorry about the crudeness of the rant but just yesterday I read a pamphlet I picked up from the Aero about a GA friendly airport in Spain LEMU. Its opening hours are; Weekdays 9AM-Sunset Then on Weekends 10 Am- 2PM They actually had a booth. Too bad I didnt see the opening hrs then.
I have just been informed by AOPA PT that Dr. Michael Erb IAOPA EU President received a communication from ANAC saying that the NOTAM was cancelled on 7 July.
Just a reminder, the process was initiated here by alerting to the NOTAM, passed through AOPA PT ending on the letter presenter by IAOPA EU to the Portuguese Authorities. We all should be happy and proud for this small victory to the GA community.
“Dear Dr Michael Erb,
We thank you for your letter adressed to Mr. Pedro Marques , Ministro do Planeamento e das Infraestruturas de Portugal., regarding the issuance of a NOTAM, A1919\17 or DO296\17, on the subject of imposing restrictions for International Flights from and to Schengen countries.
By this mail, we are happy to inform you and to all your associates, that the said NOTAM was cancelled on the 7th July , last.
With my best regards.”
Very good work.
There are about 300 people in Portugal reading EuroGA, most of them apparently pilots or with aviation knowledge.
Impressive. That’s good news. Thanks for passing it on.
I hope that everybody here is member of his/her country’s AOPA! US AOPA doesn’t count.
US AOPA counts via IAOPA – the lunching club of European AOPAs of whom nearly all are way too small to achieve anything alone.
Also US AOPA is “AOPA” so e.g. you get the AOPA discount at certain airports.
No, it does not count. Maybe formally it counts, but factually, we need to be members of out “local” AOPAs so they have the money to do the work they do for the problems that we have here in Europe, as in above case.
I can’t help it that the UK AOPA branch does seem to be a questionable bunch.
Peter wrote:
Also US AOPA is “AOPA” so e.g. you get the AOPA discount at certain airports.
The discount is precisely not the reason why AOPA exists and why you should be member, that’s only an incentive for those who don’t realize what AOPA is — a political lobby organization. Before one starts complaining about how GA is under pressure in our society, you should make sure you support a lobby organization to represent your interest.
Of course German AOPA is effective.
