Menu Sign In Contact FAQ
Banner
Welcome to our forums

La Rochelle LFBH and its Schengen-defying 48hr PN for all non-French flights

Perhaps the creator of the Notam harks back to those days.

The format of PN comes from Arrêté de 2017

My point the NOTAMS guy copied what is in 2017 text (if you read it, it talks about PN for extra-Shengen only), then hacked an extra PN entry for intra-Shengen (out of the blue), now it looks like a very amateurish “forged copy” of the law !

Why they can’t just have fresh clean version and wording? after all when they have gone as far as “it’s my AD it’s my rules” (which every one is free to do) they should have better imagination rather than “gesticuler” on the existing version

Last Edited by Ibra at 24 Apr 07:51
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Is there nobody with political connections around?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

What would you ask someone with political connections? I have quite a few political connections, but so does everyone in France. It is the way the political system is set up here.
Ibra is of course right when he writes about hacking a different regulation and not doing it very well.
IMO (and I have no grounds for this other than idle chat) this possibly stems from the political affiliation of the region/department responsible for setting the rules for the bse which covers that region/department.
As an example, hypothetically speaking if the political majority in a particular area is concerned about illegal immigration and if a particular area might be seen as being a hotspot for illegal immigration coming by private aircraft from say Spain (a Schengen country) or if maybe there is the possibility of a large drug’s trade arriving or leaving the port of La Rochelle and connecting up with say the Netherlands or other parts of the EU by small aircraft, then they may well attract the attention of the bse of that region.
Targeting in this way is not against the Schengen or any of the EU treaties as was shown in case between Italy and France and the bse there, some years ago.
One might say, well surely these small aircraft can move to one of the smaller airfields.
But this throws up other problems for the trafficker. Eg No fuel, need to speak French and the likelihood of standing out like a sore thumb.
As I wrote above, I simply put this forward as a hypothesis from a group of French pilots, sharing a drink and a chat at the club bar.

France

I have quite a few political connections, but so does everyone in France. It is the way the political system is set up here.

That’s exactly what I was getting at, but only a Frenchman is allowed to say it

Targeting in this way is not against the Schengen or any of the EU treaties as was shown in case between Italy and France and the bse there, some years ago.

I don’t agree.

And if somebody wants to smuggle drugs into La Rochelle, they can land them at any of 1234 airports (I didn’t make that number up; there really are 1234 LF* airports).

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

It’s not an actual problem, because it is just two emails to send out.

It is an actual problem, because of the long PN requirement. It is not 1h, or even 4h, but two whole days. It keeps me from deciding on Friday evening that I’ll go to La Rochelle Saturday or Sunday morning; it is a discrimination between a non-FR EU resident compared to an FR resident, and a hindrance to the free movement of people and goods within the Schengen area and the EU.

As we say in French, “A right gets worn out (and with time becomes lost) only when it is not exercised”. I have it in writing (September 2020) from the “ask a question to the Douanes” service that, coming from Schengen area EU, while they have the right to inspect me on arrival (and I must cooperate), I have no obligation to contact them beforehand. I did the PN to avoid problems on the spot, but I also wrote the same service again to inquire whether the La Rochelle PN requirement is without legal basis for intra-EU intra-Schengen flights.

ELLX

Exactly. Al these PNs are not a problem when the weather is perfect for days in advance, everything is pre-planned and so on. But that is is not how it goes in real life. It takes away the flexibility.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Can one not send a PN for every day you might arrive on?

I might do that. 2 emails for arrival, 2 emails for departure.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Yes it’s a mess for planing and kills most flexibility

Can one not send a PN for every day you might arrive on?

But you still have to make sure you cancel every “non-used” PN before someone calls you to ask why you did not come or cancel? don’t ask me how I know

This also happens if you send 48h PN to two places to hedge your weather outcomes or NOTMAS (fuel, closures) and decided to change your mind and go elsewhe…these PN becomes interesting on Friday evening departures: no fuel, FPL delays, traffic jams, wife being late, boss asking for more work…so you can’t land at X before T and decide to go Y which is open untill Z

Having places like Lille (24h PPR for handling requests but they would skip it easily on last minute call) or LeTouquet (2h PNR but before 1900LT) or Calais (2h PNR but 24h for PCL) was a God’s gift for flexibility, long may that live

Last Edited by Ibra at 24 Apr 09:51
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

How do bizjet operators handle this situation with France? It precludes any short term jobs (or short term changes to flights, which happens every day…) ?

Last Edited by boscomantico at 24 Apr 10:17
Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Traditionally, with bribery.

What happens is they use a handler who “makes the arrangements”.

One bizjet pilot told me that is how they flew UK to Pontoise, etc.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
Sign in to add your message

Back to Top