pilotrobbie wrote:
That’s absurd, what’s EDDM like? Or best to no Nuremburg?
EDDM is apparently cheaper but still multiple 100 Euro and apparently hard to get approval below 2 tons (at least before COVID). EDDN Nürnberg was very easy last time I did vist and the total charge must have been 2 digits.
As a reminder, for most SEPs, a landing and one night of parking at Düsseldorf EDDL is now roughly 170€. For SR22, TB20 and C210, it is now 270€. This is after the famous “safety cone fee” of 65€ (IIRC) has been invented.
So this time, I went to Mönchengladbach EDLN. Flying-wise, there is nothing to report. I flew in IFR, which has the advasntage that one always has priority from the tower, when the CTR is very busy with VFR traffic (which happens often at EDLN). ATC is not particularly friendly there, particularly if you mess something up a little, but I can’t complain. No tie-downs for SEPs, but just a 50 metre walk to the terminal. The terminal is old style, not very pretty from the outside. The from inside, it is currently undergoing major renovation works. Upon arrival, one simply walks through the building, onto the car park.
EDLN is a decent alternative for Düsseldorf since there at at least three (Fiat 500) cars from App2Drive stationed there. So, only a few minutes after landing, you can be in the car and on your way to Düsseldorf. Without any traffic jams, it is only just over 20minutes into the centre of Düsseldorf.
But then again, once you are in Düsseldorf, the car is of more a nuisance than a help. Also foreigners will lkely have a hard time setting up App2Drive and using it, since the App has never been translated into English.
So, all in all, I would love to see the fees at Düsseldorf go back to somewhere normal, but there is little hope. The noise fee for SR22, TB20 and C210 has been there for 15 years. And the safety cone fee has just been introduced and will also likely not go away, as everything that is related to “safety” is hardly ever questioned.
Fees at EDLN for an SR22 and one night’s parking at EDLN are 48€, so not dirt cheap either. The staff where the fees are paid is also mildly unfriendly, so in combination with the terrible terminal building, it is not a great experience all in all, but still a place that “works”.
