GA in Greece
I paste below an email which I sent to Aopa Hellas - speaks for itself.
I am never flying back to Megara, ever again. How you expect to develop GA flying in Greece when your leading GA airfield makes it so impossible.
I fly a Cirrus SR22TN. I have flown the Atlantic twice, extensively in the USA, and all over Europe, from Norway to Greece.
4 years ago I gave 5 days’ notice to Megara, that I wished to land. I landed, was told that as I had not supplied passport information (not specified or required in the AIP), I had to take off again or pay a Euro500 fine. I paid the fine, and vowed I would never go back.
I stupidly thought things would get better. GA in Greece was encouraged, barriers being removed and Megara was to be the focus of the GA revival in Greece. I was wrong.
I did get permission to land, I did supply passport details, although it is still not specified in the AIP. I arranged hangerage for a month with Greek Air, who seemed reasonable. We had to land at Corfu first as a ‘Port of Entry’ to have passports checked, although we arrived from Germany, a Schengen country – and no one in Corfu checked them – complete waste of time and money.
We submitted an IFR flight plan, told Greek Air that we would be at the Airfield at 8.15am for a 9.00am departure IFR back to Corfu, to have our passports checked – which were never looked at again!
Arrived at the airfield at 8.15am – very officious impolite policeman, told us we were not allowed onto the airfield. After a lot, and I mean a lot of arguing, we managed to persuade him that I could go onto the field, without my passenger and without my luggage. But the hangar was locked. Greek Air, in spite of confirming my arrival at 8.15am, don’t open until 9.00am.
Police said we could not go onto the field until the ‘office’ opened at 9.00am. Eventually the Greek Air staff arrived at 8.50am and the airfield office opened at 9.00am. There was a line of very unhappy pilots waiting to depart. A customs declaration had to be completed (but Megara is not a Customs airfield), including flight plan details of onward flights beyond Corfu – why??? – and a fee, which he tried to charge us for parking, although we were in a private hangar.
Eventually, by 9.20am we could go onto the Airfield. Radioed for start, IFR flight plan acknowledged by the Tower, but parachute drop taking place – 45 minutes later we could start. Got to Corfu, just before a line of thunderstorms, to have our passports checked – joke! – they never looked at them, more wasted time and money.
Nightmare – never going back – rude, unwelcoming, officious, bureaucratic, money grabbing – in fact an experience that summarises all the worst things that can happen to a GA flying experience.
Regards
David Brockbank
N868CK