Most NW France big airports don’t have any traffic at all and are not sustainable and I really doubt British GA will save them (except in terms of mouvements reports rather than dollar values)
Well, yes, that is probably true 
but if we are assuming the local chamber of commerce will keep paying… You cannot run a decent size piece of tarmac like say Cherbourg on the actual traffic they have, by a factor of 5x or 10×.
But whatever traffic you do have, if UK makes up 1/3 of it (the figure reported by the French airports which lost C&I in 2011/2012) that is still 1/3 of your income which you are losing. And I bet you that you could dig up more new traffic from the UK, with a bit of marketing, than out of that region of France (basically aeroclub traffic, which mostly doesn’t fly to these “big” airports anyway; Deauville is one exception). But as long as the police want to screw you, that option is closed off.
You just can’t keep some of these airports open and staffed (especially with C&I) to deal with less than 10 aircraft a week coming from the UK or Switzerland, it is just not economically viable.
This is the big mistake made (well it’s not a mistake; everybody who can count will know it) in most of Europe.
To run an airport you need x people. Exactly how many depends but it is nothing to do with passport control.
To accept non schengen or non EU traffic you need just 1 police officer – the same one who does airport security Look at LDLO, LDSB, etc. It isn’t rocket science. What it is is job protection, job demarcation, union rules, laziness, politics, corruption, whatever.
Peter_G wrote:
Flew to France last Thursday to perform a wedding at Vannes LFRV, using Cherbourg LFRC for Immigration, where I had conformed to their 24 hours PPR.
Just before take-off I received this friendly (!) email.
Just as friendly at Caen it appears
Peter wrote:
close to zero UK traffic after the above garbage (which also directly led to the restaurant/shop closing)
The last good day at Cherbourg as far as aviation is concerned
From the Dutch AOPA:
https://www.aopa.nl/index.php?page=1452
Machine translation (deepl.com):
French customs impose hefty fine on Dutch pilot
Friday, August 13
Through one of our members we learned about measures introduced by the French customs. Apparently it is a requirement that when flying from abroad to France, customs must be informed in advance. Free movement on the basis of the Schengen Agreement is not possible in France because of COVID-19. The notification cannot be made per flight plan. You will therefore have to notify customs yourself. If you do not comply with the obligation, a fine of €1,500 may be imposed. It is therefore advisable to prepare your flight to France well and to ensure that you comply with any customs formalities. It is better to be safe than sorry.
We are still trying to find out exactly what the situation is. We are in contact with our colleagues at AOPA France about it.
The pilot involved made another attempt to convince French customs to change their mind, but according to the following response this did not succeed:
“Dear sir,
The results of the investigations have led to the conclusion that all the rules have been respected by the customs service which controlled your flight.
In theory no prior notice is requested for an intra-Schengen flight excepted when internal border control is reintroduced, which is the case for several months (le Code Frontière Schengen prévoit au titre III -Art 5 que les modalités de franchissement des frontières extérieures prévues au titre II (Art 25 et 32), s’appliquent lorsque le contrôle aux frontières intérieures est réintroduit).
Consequently, prior notice flight shall be sent in order that customs service could effectively control people and goods in airports. The lack of prior notice is fined 1500 euros according to Schengen Borders Code, French Customs Code (art. 410) and the national decree dated 2017/10/24 (art. 5) referring to border crossing.
Due to these explanations, refund is not grounded.
Yours sincerely,
Direction Régionale des Douanes de Dijon".
Our colleague from AOPA France writes us the following in response to the incident:
“Effectively, since the COVID Pandemic, France has made amendments to the way the Schengen treaty is applied. But one question remains: “How were these changes notified nationally and internationally to pilots and other Custom officials throughout Europe”. There is a case to be made that no information was specifically addressed to the pilot community within and externally to France. Facts that are irrefutable: filing a flight Plan does not constitute a formal notification to customs: This is precisely why customs coordinates are mentioned in aerodrome information. The mention ‘Request customs’ in zone 18 of an FPL is not a valid Customs services request."
AOPA France is willing to mediate for our member.
Where did this pilot fly from? Presumably NL?
hmng wrote:
Consequently, prior notice flight shall be sent in order that customs service could effectively control people and goods in airports.
That’s very strange reply. Schengen has nothing whatsoever to do with the control (or not) of goods. And customs do not control people.
Or are the “douaniers” in France also responsible for immigration?
I think there is a mix-up between customs officers and police officers.
I only know what AOPA posted on their newsletter.
Agree it’s weird to mention Schengen and talk about customs. Either translation issues or the usual mix-up when both are handled together.
Just thought it was relevant to this thread.
Or are the “douaniers” in France also responsible for immigration?
In some cases yes.
In the French AIP most Customs and Immigration officers come under the heading douane. Whether or not they are different people my experience.says not but I couldn’t swear to that.
