Used to be 12hrs. Now looks like 24hrs.
The Isle of Man doesn't and has never required customs -- only Special Branch. It's part of the UK common travel area with common customs with the UK. (What applies to the Channel Islands therefore doesn't necessarily apply to the Isle of Man). If I'm going to an airfield that's notified as no notice required by Special Branch, I'm just going to take off and go as I have been doing all along.
It's not going to be nice if even flights from 'designated airfields' now require 24 hours notice. This is a serious increased restriction. But I think with regards to the Isle of Man this document is just very badly worded.
I am not sure if I have misread something and am mistaken, but its suggesting that all aircraft departing have to notify the Channel Islands no later than 12 hours (thats fine, thats what we do now anyhow), but "any other eventual destination", no later than 24 hours.
I think you are misreading it.
Have a read of paragraph 1 again. As I read it, it says that the regulations only apply to:
paragraph a) aircraft arriving in the UK from outside the UK
paragraph b) aircraft departing the UK for a location outside the EU and IOM.
So the 24 hour bit doesn't apply to flights to the EU because the whole regulations don't apply to them.
Flight to the UK from the EU only require 4 hours notice
Same would seem to be the case for the IOM. No notice required for departing the UK to the IOM, and 4 hours for arrival in the UK from the IOM.
At least that's how I read it. I also assume that the Terrorism Act stuff for Special Branch still apply, so require 12 hours notice where that's relevant.
I wonder if these (and the Terrorism Act) are in contravention of the EU Directive DIRECTIVE 2004/38/EC?
Article 4
Right of exit
Without prejudice to the provisions on travel documents applicable to national border controls, all Union citizens with a valid identity card or passport and their family members who are not nationals of a Member State and who hold a valid passport shall have the right to leave the territory of a Member State to travel to another Member State.
No exit visa or equivalent formality may be imposed on the persons to whom paragraph 1 applies.
[...]
Article 5
Right of entry
- Without prejudice to the provisions on travel documents applicable to national border controls, Member States shall grant Union citizens leave to enter their territory with a valid identity card or passport and shall grant family members who are not nationals of a Member State leave to enter their territory with a valid passport. No entry visa or equivalent formality may be imposed on Union citizens.
Is submitting a GAR form 4 hours (or 12 in the case of the Terrorism Act) an equivalent formality to an entry/exit visa? I think a reasonable argument could be made that it is....
Dublinpilot,
The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are outside the UK and the EU.
Hi Fuzzy,
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make, but that piece of info is already taken account of in my reply above.
Departures to IOM are specifically excluded from the regulation by paragraph 1b. Departures to CI are specifically required to give 12 hours notice by paragraph 3.2.b.i
Arrivals from CI specifically require 12 hours notice by paragraph 3.c.3. Ok. I think I see your issue now. arrivals from the IOM to the UK appear to need 12 hours notice in accordance with paragraph 3.c.1 as no equilivant exclusion is given for their arrivals like their departures.
Do the Yotties have to bother with all this crap?
What is "Yotties"?
He probably mean people with a yacht, but a Yottie is someone who smokes marijuana in a distinctive way.
The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are outside the UK and the EU.
However, for Customs, the Isle of Man is considered the UK - because the IOM and UK have common customs.
The Channel Islands are outside the UK customs area (that's why they have cheap fuel - they don't charge UK duty and VAT. However, in the Isle of Man you get to pay UK duty and UK VAT on fuel, so the fuel at Ronaldsway is the same price as you may find in the UK. Now the duty and VAT go via the Manx government, but the duty rates are set by the UK chancellor and there is a VAT sharing agreement between the UK and Isle of Man. Basically the UK gets all the VAT paid in the Isle of Man less 1% (which the IOM government keeps for administering the collection of VAT on behalf of the UK). This is how the Isle of Man pays for things the UK provides to the Isle of Man, such as defence).
So any GAR requirements that customs may require will not apply to the Isle of Man because from the point of view of customs, the Isle of Man is the same as anywhere else in the UK. Or at least should be. Special Branch should be the only GAR requirement for the Isle of Man, and until I read something from the Police telling me something else, I'm going to continue to fly to places like Gloucester or Carlisle etc. which don't require notice for Special Branch without giving notice, and 12 hr notice to Special Branch for non-designated airfields.
And no, the yachties don't bother with all of this, which I find really annoying - why can a boat (which can carry far more terrorists and guns than a light plane, and do so far less detectably - after all, boats aren't going to be on Ronaldsway's radar [0] but I will) just bugger off to Ireland from some small harbour, but me in the Auster has to give 12 hours notice if I don't need to stop at Ronaldsway for fuel?
[0] Actually, on a visit to the EGNS radar room, they can pick up the Steam Packet vessels on their radar.
