Tech Stops And Clearing Customs

[LH2]

So, do you need to clear customs if your first (last) stop into (out of) somewhere is a tech stop (e.g., fuel uplift) and is noted as such in the flight plan? References backing up any assertions one way or another would be appreciated.

A post (http://www.pprune.org/private-flying/371758-flying-lyon.html#post4894644) on another thread got me wondering.

[Airbus Girl]

I don't have a reference, but as far as I am aware, as long as you remain "airside" you don't need to get checked at the airport you tech stop at.

[dublinpilot]

I don't have a reference, but as far as I am aware, as long as you remain "airside" you don't need to get checked at the airport you tech stop at.

I would imagine that that is only true where there is a clear distinction between airside and landside, with custom/immigration available at the crossing point.

Land in a small, open airport, and I think you've effectively arrived in the country and therefore need customs/immigration.

I don't think you'll easily find much saying that you don't have to clear customs if you stay airside. If you look at the Terrorism Act 2000, and the various customs/immigration acts listed on the UK GAR, you'll see that they say you need to inform or clear (as apporpiate) that agency when arriving in the UK or when leaving.

Of course if you land in Gatwick, and never leave airside, then no one will care. Arrive in some farm strip, and it might be different.

[mm_flynn]

Having done it on occassion, you do not need to clear customs, but it must be at a propper international airport - that is international at the time you arrive!

So for example, flying from Canada to Iceland with a tech stop in Greenland, you don't go land side clear customs, clear back out and go. You just stay airside and pay your bill.

IO540 had the experience of trying to tech stop in an airport that is customs by PN and was refused landing due to lack of customs (even though it was only a tech stop).

[IO540]

Yeah, don't get me started on this...

In the GA context, having to clear Customs is a must even if just refuelling AND if one can pay the bowser so one does not need to leave airside.

I have been refused landing at Padova (Italy) on this, from a short final :yuk:

I have also had my flight plan to Zaragoza (Spain) summarily cancelled even though they were told (by my departure ARO, on the phone) that it was a fuel stop only :yuk:

In both cases, lack of PPR was cited, although the circumstances were a bit suspicious as regards some individuals' conduct at these places.

As far as I can tell, fuel stops without clearing Customs are done by prior arrangement with a handling company, who presumably square it with the local Customs office. It is frequently done with bizjets, and I even had it as a passenger in a 747. But, despite enquiries, I have never got my hands on an example of how to do it.

One point which someone picked up was that if you did do such a landing then the next landing point would have no idea that you did not clear Customs, and this could be used to circumvent the universal need to enter each country (or Schengen) via a Customs airport.

So, for example, you could depart the UK, refuel at Caen LFRK, and fly to anywhere in Schengen and everybody there would think you entered Schengen properly at LFRK.

Therefore, my guess is that this can be arranged only for flights on which the onward destination is another international airport. In the above example, refuelling at LFRK should be OK if the next stop is definitely going to be say Biarritz LFBZ. This would be open to obvious abuse because you could just divert to some farm strip in France and there is no apparatus in place to detect what actually happened at LFRK.

Why is this available to bizjets but apparently never to GA? My guess is the answer is that in general nobody wants to be ar*ed with providing services to GA, anywhere. Money paid to a "handling" company can however be used to "lubricate" (sorry I meant "facilitate") all kinds of favours, and jets are big income to most airports and their operators are well looked after. Also, a GA flight is much more likely to divert to somewhere small and local than a jet which is departing on a long flight somewhere and which is unlikely to play any games. But I am really speculating.