https://www.icao.int/dataplus_archive/Documents/20130807/GLOSSARY%20v1%202.pdf local copy
Technical landing is an ICAO provision for air carriers of contracting states to land for non revenue (technical) reasons when this wouldn’t otherwise be possible, for instance due to traffic rights.
It seems it doesn’t apply to GA since no revenue is involved anyway, but some airports don’t know that.
Would be interesting to find out if the CI part of it is regulated by ICAO or if it’s just based on the individual country’s preference.
Snoopy wrote:
It seems it doesn’t apply to GA since no revenue is involved anyway, but some airports don’t know that.
Or perhaps they do know but as a favor for GA they are applying the technical landing regulations to GA as well. Why should we presume stupidity if being nice could also explain what they do?
Malibuflyer wrote:
E.g. in Germany they would take it as a stop in the country even if you only visit the international side of the terminal for transit without immigrating in that country.
Are you sure? Certainly not the case if you transit as pax, which is something I used to do all the time. BUT here’s a gotcha: coming from a third country into the EU, more specifically the Schengen Area, you actually do enter the country, even if you’re in transit. Case in point is my regular transit in FRA. Coming from the US I enter Schengen at that point even if I have no intentions to stay in Germany. The interesting thing in the current Covid context is that I had to do just that a few weeks ago. The border guard (immigration) grilled the German girl in front of me as to where she had been and where she was going and I think she had to fill in some contact trace form. I just showed my onward boarding pass and was waved through. Of course, I could easily have stayed in Germany….
Peter wrote:
There is/was actually an additional procedure on departure from Greece to a non EU destination, costing €40 for the customs officer “taxi fare” but indeed this is a detail…
You’re right – I paid it when I arrived from Bosnia – one day stop, unlike return flight where it was just refueling stop.
172driver wrote:
Are you sure? Certainly not the case if you transit as pax, which is something I used to do all the time.
Yes! If you transit through Germany we basically do not care.
If you, however, immigrate into Germany, coming from country A with a transit in country B, the Covid rules for coming from country A and B (whatever is stricter) apply – as soon as you touched the terminal in country B even if it only was in the international transit area.
Snoopy wrote:
Stupidity sounds harsh, regarding international airports and GA I think „unenlightened“ fits well.
My key point should have been: We should hope that this “enlightenment” will not reach these airports at any time in the future because it is a huge advantage for us that most airports consider a fuel stop in a small plane as “technical stop” even though from regulatory perspective it might not be one.
Therefore I’d rather like to think that most of them actually know but do us a favor…
Malibuflyer wrote:
If you, however, immigrate into Germany, coming from country A with a transit in country B, the Covid rules for coming from country A and B (whatever is stricter) apply – as soon as you touched the terminal in country B even if it only was in the international transit area.
Wasn’t my experience in late January.
Malibuflyer wrote:
My key point should have been: We should hope that this “enlightenment” will not reach these airports at any time in the future because it is a huge advantage for us that most airports consider a fuel stop in a small plane as “technical stop” even though from regulatory perspective it might not be one.
Therefore I’d rather like to think that most of them actually know but do us a favor…
Yes it’s a favour, some ATC or handlers will do it, no need to exit your aircraft, they send a fuel truck right at your feet and let you know that C&I are not interested, others will tell you that “small planes have to pay landing fees cash at the desk” 
In CV19 context, it’s a useful favour nonethless !
