3 April 2012
AOPA has confirmed that the French government is withdrawing Customs facilities, including the ability to pre-notify, from dozens of smaller airfields. This will obviously have a major impact on GA flights from the UK as Britain has not signed up to the Schengen Agreement allowing free travel across European borders. A list of airfields from which Customs has been withdrawn has been confirmed by Emmanuel Davidson of AOPA France. They are Meaux-Esbly, Pontoise, Toussus Le Noble, Valenciennes-Denaine, Nancy-Essen, Pontarlier, Reims-Champagne, Saint-Yan, Vesoul-Frotey, Courcheval, Megeve, Roanne-Renaison, Valence-Chabeuil, Gap-Tallard, Albi-le-Sequestre, Cahors-Lalbenque, Castres-Mazamet, Bourges, Dieppe-St-Aubin, Granville, Morlaix-Ploujean and Quimper-Plughaffen. Customs will not be available even on 24 hours notice. Furthermore, another raft of airfields have been earmarked to have Customs facilities removed by summer 2012; these include Amiens-Glisy, Abbeville, Calais, Montbeliard-Courcelles, Besancon-La-Veze, Colmar-Houssen, Nevers-Fourchambault, Epinal-Mirecourt, Auxerre-Branches, Vichy-Charmeil, Annemasse, Le Castellet, Agen-La Garenne, Lannion, Laval-Entrammes, Rouen-Vallee de Seine, Orleans-St Denis de Hotel. <a href=”http://www.iaopa.eu/”>Click here for more</a>
