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Technical Stops in France, Germany or Italy possible? (coronavirus scenario)

I have a legitimate and urgent business need to travel from the UK to Greece for 24 hours.

Travel out of the UK is permitted for certain business needs (including mine), provided one fills in a new form. Per the handling agent, Greece will let me in, provided I go to my destination (ie hotel room) there until I return to the airport and depart.

If I take my own aircraft the problem is where to refuel etc enroute. I have checked with my favourite Swiss airport and they say that a technical stop is not allowed in Switzerland except in the case of a true emergency. I have the range to be be able to do a stop in mid or southern France, northern Italy, or southern Germany (eg Schwabish Halle).

Does anyone know whether stops would be allowed in any of these countries currently?

Peter, you seemed to indicate that the French would allow a refuelling stop on your planned UK to Matterhorn and back trip?

Upper Harford private strip UK, near EGBJ, United Kingdom

Cannes LFMD is “open for business” since Mar2020 with no interruption, so you are guaranteed fuel over there (and less hassle)

On UK/France, if you are not staying more than 24h you should be able to transit France with zero issues (you don’t even need to show your business reasons), as extra: you have to fill up two forms for arrival/departure when you get to see customs, you need RT-PCR-COVID test (not sure if crews are exempt) and the symptoms declaration

https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/L-actu-du-Ministere/Certificate-of-international-travel

Last Edited by Ibra at 07 Mar 23:33
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

You can do a tech stop at LOWG, refuel, toilet etc.. as long as you stay airside.

always learning
LO__, Austria

Buckerfan wrote:

Does anyone know whether stops would be allowed in any of these countries currently?

In Germany, it is possible at “controlled” airports, however I’d suggest to call ahead and confirm.

always learning
LO__, Austria

AFAIK every country in Europe allows fuel stops without triggering CV19 procedures (quarantine etc).

But staying on hotels is likely to involve getting tested.

I know of a bizjet / ferry pilot who had to do this very recently.

Can you get to Greece in one day? It is possible (Shoreham to Corfu is ~1100nm; the TB20 could do it nonstop, on a right kind of day) but not many airports there are open late.

Sleeping in the plane has been done in the bizjet world but largely in the 3rd World; in Europe you will get kicked off by security. I enquired about this too and it seems impossible. And if you carry a tent and do “wild camping” in some bushes outside the airport, you are still “entering the country”. OTOH hotels may work in some places because airline crew regularly stay in hotels (near airports) and they are exempt from the CV19 regs.

“Tech stops” in the abstract, we discussed e.g. here and it is a topic on which there is some strong disagreement. Those who say they are possible tend to be particular pilots who did a lot of stops at LYBE where they do allow it, but clearly most European airports require a customs/immigration inspection (if you are non Schengen traffic) even for a refuel. Every place I asked told me they will do a passport check. The idea of a “tech stop” doesn’t really exist for light GA because the passport checking system assumes at each stop that you cleared C+I at the previous stop.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Get in touch with the airport and check. We recently had some pilots flying an aircraft from France and they were able to stop in Germany to refuel and have take away lunch from the airport restaurant that they could eat in the terminal. This was no problem at all for them.

Of course you will have to check if there are other rules when arriving from outside EU/Schengen though.

ESSZ, Sweden

I have this from a bizjet/ferry pilot:

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

What business could you possibly do whilst self isolating in a Greek hotel overnight?

Well… I have one on my mind but I guess it’s not for this forum

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Buckerfan wrote:

If I take my own aircraft the problem is where to refuel etc enroute. I have checked with my favourite Swiss airport and they say that a technical stop is not allowed in Switzerland except in the case of a true emergency.

That is a strange answer from the Swiss airport. I fly a little in charters and in my experience tech stops are allowed anywhere. Going to the loo during tech stops also hasn’t been a problem. In case of Switzerland, not only tech stops are possible, but also regular travel. I visited Sion about two weeks ago. There is an online locator form to fill and I was required to have PCR, but once I arrived, no one even bothered to check my papers.

LPFR, Poland

There doesn’t seem to be a clear definition on what a “technical stop” really is. If it is just about landing, getting refuled and taking off again, it should not be a challenge from the airport POV.
Things get more tricky if you want to visit the restrooms: Many smaller airfields don’t have such facilities on airside – and therefore you would technically need to immigrate into the country (with all of the Covid-implications it might have including potential implications in your final destination country with respect to isolation).

Germany
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