Hi,
While flying from Toussus/LFPN to Friedrichshafen for AERO 2016, I plan to stop over in Switzerland for lunch.
Do I need to take-off from a Customs Airfield (“Aérodrome Douanier”)?
This governmental decree and relevant NOTAM say Toussus/LFPN is OK for Customs provided an advance notice is sent to “relevant authorities designated by the Prefet”. Does anyone know how to activate this procedure?
Thanks.
I’d say just do as per the NOTAM.
The current notam for LFPN says
That’s interesting they allow Switzerland but not e.g. the UK. It’s fairly easy to speculate as to the reason for excluding some of the others, in the current migration crisis and recent events in France, I guess.
Peter wrote:
That’s interesting they allow Switzerland but not e.g. the UK. It’s fairly easy to speculate as to the reason for excluding some of the others, in the current migration crisis and recent events in France, I guess.
I think the NOTAM is quite clear: you are allowed to depart to intra-Schengen destinations, where no immigration check is required, but not allowed to depart to any destination where immigration checks are due. So this is a situation, where the airport has arrangements for customs, but not immigration. Nothing to do with the migration crisis or the recent events, IMO.
You can land in Geneva which has French customs status. Problem solved (at a Swiss cost…).
On my reading it doesn’t limit itself to departures. It just says “flights”.
The policy makes sense if the French plan on not turning up most of the time (as is the case presently and has been for ever) because then you are relying on the country from which the plane departed to do passport checks.
But it doesn’t make any sense really since an intra schengen inbound flight confers absolutely zero security anyway. Absolutely anybody could be on it, and they could land on some grass strip in France…
All they have achieved is a big reduction in the traffic at Toussus and Pontoise, which makes their finances even more on a knife edge…
Peter wrote:
On my reading it doesn’t limit itself to departures. It just says “flights”.
Yes, since the Schengen zone has both entry and exit immigration checks, and this airport has no immigration facilities, you cannot plan any flight to or from a non-Schengen destination, which would require an immigration check.
The policy makes sense if the French plan on not turning up most of the time (as is the case presently and has been for ever) because then you are relying on the country from which the plane departed to do passport checks.
I don’t read it that way… They are simply not accepting flights from outside the Schengen zone, where passport checks would have to be done. For intra-Schengen flights, no passport check is necessary, so they accept them. If the flight is both intra-Schengen and intra-EU (i.e. no immigration and no customs), you can depart or arrive without much hassle. If the flight is intra-Schengen, but non-EU (i.e. no immigration, but then customs will have to be done), you notify customs in advanced an they either turn up or not.
All they have achieved is a big reduction in the traffic at Toussus and Pontoise, which makes their finances even more on a knife edge…
If extra-Schengen (I guess mainly UK and Ireland) flights were the majority of flight before this rule came into effect, I can see that. But others are not really effected, as I see.
Peter wrote:
That’s interesting they allow Switzerland but not e.g. the UK. It’s fairly easy to speculate as to the reason for excluding some of the others, in the current migration crisis and recent events in France, I guess.
Switzerland is in Schengen, the UK is not. Why speculate about any other reason?
The bit I don’t get is why put in a facility whereby one can get the police to turn up, and then exclude it for some countries.
Especially as Switzerland needs Customs (which needs a higher trained inspector) whereas the UK needs just immigration (which any policeman who can open your passport can do – see how it is done in e.g. Croatia).
IMHO the reason France withdrew “Customs” (customs and immigration) from about 50 airports in 2011/2012 was to enable a staffing reduction in the “mobile” police force. They usually didn’t turn up anyway but if you increased the number of airports to which they “usually don’t turn up” 
you can employ fewer staff.
If you build an airport, you want it to have traffic, surely? But there seems to be a disconnect between the two, somewhere…
Peter wrote:
The bit I don’t get is why put in a facility whereby one can get the police to turn up, and then exclude it for some countries.
Customs are not the same as police! They have an agreement with the former, but not with latter. I do not say that it is good, but simply this is the situation.
If you build an airport, you want it to have traffic, surely? But there seems to be a disconnect between the two, somewhere…
Here I agree with you 100%.
