Tip for IFR school navigation

Johan_M wrote:

’m totally new handling… Do I have to book it in advance? (Sorry for stupid questions…)

Not really, but if there is more than one handling agent on an airport it is better to arrange things beforehand. Otherwise the airport might assign you a handler of their own choice and you will have to pay what it costs… At Prague we use Eurojet as handling agent but I have no idea about the cost – https://www.eurojet-service.com/airport/czech-republic-prague-vaclav-havel-ruzyne-lkpr That should be easy to clarify by email!

I’m totally new handling… Do I have to book it in advance?

There is no single reply to this. These things are totally random across Europe and its airports. In many countries, these big airports are PPR, and the PPR is often via one of the handling agents. Need to check the AD entry in the AIP for the specific airport in question.

In many cases, you don’t really have to “book” the handling agent.
But, if you land, and didn’t “do” anything beforehand, chances are that:

-no one will pick you up from the parking position and you will lose time
-anyone will come, and if you don’t have any cost estimate from them, you have no idea what it will cost in the end

So, “booking” makes sense, but not such much for the booking itself, but most of all to get an estimate from them that they will (in theory) have to (more or less) adhere to.

All these tricks and tips are obviously not taught at the PPL course, and it takes a few times of experience (sometimes expensive ones) to learn how to deal with big airports and handling agents. But again, no airport is like the other in this regard.

Generally, big airports are a pain for light GA pilots (and vice versa) so one should try to avoid them where possible. But sometimes it’s not possible, and that’s when you should do some due dilligence beforehand (at least if you are the one paying the bills). But as I said, in many countries (most of all, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, UK) most of the big airports have some PPR rule anyway. There are even some people who always notify the airport in advance, irrespective of what the AIP says, and there are pros and cons to this (debated here previously).

Of all the airports I have been to, Prague LKPR has always been the place which “just works”. File the flight plan and fly. No PNR, no PPR, no PNR for avgas. You are welcome there – as is your credit card later on

The problem is that then you can get the “wrong” handling firm grabbing you and extracting too much from you. In the past there was only one handler but it sounds like there are more now and it may thus pay to “book yourself in” with the cheaper one.

You park at the “old terminal” and that is where you want the taxi to/from also – the taxi drivers know it as such.

Personally, I don’t tear my hair out over paying €200 just once in a long while, going somewhere special, but would not pay it regularly, and the inability to get the “full price” has been unacceptable. The worst bit was this which really should not happen outside Africa.

boscomantico wrote:

…and it takes a few times of experience (sometimes expensive ones) to learn how to deal with big airports and handling agents.

The internet and forums like this one make things a lot easier though! My number one general advice regarding handling: “Never hand over your garbage to a handling agent, especially not in Italy. Either leave it on the plane or throw it away in the hotel. Otherwise you will receive a biiiig surprise with your invoice”