Peter wrote:
VFR in the Class D (FL120-200) was always banned by notam over a huge area, but I am not sure how big this area was.
If memory serves me right, it is banned in the airspace controlled by Paris only. Cannot remember the reference.
However, the bit of air where you got handed to Paris Control varied over the years with altitude.
This whole topic is tied in with the well known issue of IFR traffic entering the UK getting dumped before reaching the LTMA, with its IFR clearance quietly terminated (because most people doing this are flying off-airway). This issue has been related to how high you had to be at the point you got handed over from France to UK ATC. Only Paris Control had a letter of agreement with London Control, so if you were talking to say Lille you got handed to London Info and got shafted. Years ago, Paris Control would handle you only at/above about FL120. So to maintain an IFR clearance you had to be on oxygen! These days, you can get Paris Control at FL100.
But you should be able to fly around in the widespread French Class E VFR up to FL115, which is definitely Paris Control in the above context…
Or is there some other “Paris”?
In years past, I totally failed to get a clearance for VFR above FL105 in the south east of France too.
