There was this one time I called for PPR after I had filed a flight plan, and their response was kinda: “but why are you calling? You have filed a flight plan”. Some airports might consider the flight plan PPR internally, maybe? But there was no official information about it anywhere.
French customs PNR is explicitly different from FPL
The whole business of FP, PPR etc seems to be very antiquated and messy.
Asking the aviation authority, the only reason for filing a FP (VFR) is to get SAR. Asking the ATC, a FP is “necessary” in CAS. A FP is also necessary when crossing borders, but why? To check the box that say to send a copy to the customs office? The customs office can be contacted separately anyway. Avinor airports are public, no PPR is needed. This is only valid in the opening hours. Also in the opening hours, no (filed) FP is strictly needed, even though when asked, they say “yes please”. Outside opening hours they require a filed flight plan through IPPC and a PPR through MyPPR. The reason given, it is no one at the airport to handle the FP, and the PPR is required for filing purposes. PPR is automatically granted.
Except for SAR, everything else are nothing but bureaucratic “side effects”, accounting and filing for no particular purpose. Another exception at busy airports and in CAS is in fact scheduling it seems. Things flow better VFR in CAS with a FP, at least by experience.
I’ve seen it maybe 3 or 4 times in France. The only example I can find now is Rouen LFOP:
I once called Beauvais (douane on request by telephone, no notification period) approx 13:00 local for a flight the next morning and was told it was too late. The airport person made zero effort, so maybe there had been past problems with the police/gendarmes/douaniers..? A send-and-forget notification system with limited interaction is better, as long as you have proof of sending and not doing anything wrong.
deposit?
Poor translation for „submit“
Dimme wrote:
deposit?One of the many false friends between french and english.
Poor translation for „submit“Correct
Apparently in The Netherlands a flight plan can serve as PN. This can lead to disasters if tried elsewhere
Peter wrote:
in The Netherlands a flight plan can serve as PN.
Not at Texel if from/to UK. They are very insistent about Gendec forms and even copy them to customs themselves, even if submitted electronically.
Yes FPL butter no parsnips when it comes to PN, even if the obsolete Belgian & Dutch AIP say it does !
To add the cherry on the cake FPL via AFTN does not work in Netherlands, AIS/ARO has duty to file, receive & monitor VFR flights (and Y/Z as well), I am sure many SkyDemon users have messed up with (lost) FPL that were used for PN in the past before some workaround was found…
On a side question has anyone flown to MZ (EHMZ) or Texel (EHTX) from UK since Jan21? their AIP entries are dodgy, they distinguish immigration & custom?