Flying to UK from a non-customs & immigration airfield in France

[rmdr2]

Hi there guys

I am thinking of flying to France for the weekend. My route out of the UK is not a problem. Both airfields have all the necessary customs and immigration facilities.

However, after hopping around some airfields in France, I would eventually like to fly from Saumur (Loire Valley) to the channel Isles. The problem is that Saumur is not a designated customs and immigration airfield.

Some people tell me that I am only allowed to make international flights into and out of customs and immigration airfields. Others tell me that I can make my trip as intended (Saumur to Channel Isles) as long as I submit the appropriate paperwork to the appropriate people at the appropriate time.

However, no-one is able to tell me exactly how.

Any of you GA guys able to shed some light on how to do this? More importantly, any of you guys able to get me in contact with the right people and the correct forms….

Form names/numbers?
Fax/phone numbers?

Many thanks

Rob

[PorcoRosso]

Hi Rob

I was based in Saumur a couple of years

Normally, flying from or to the Channel islands not a problem, provided you inform police or customs 2 days before (working days )
Contact the CCI Chambre de Commerce et de l'Industrie, who is more or less in charge of this.
Prepare a form with pax & crew details (passport numbers... ) arrival & departing dates and try to stick to ETA & ETD .
There is a good chance you will meet police on departure or arrival, just for a documents check and that's it .
I no longer have Saumur CCI contact details, but you should easily find it in Pooleys, Jepp's or Bottlang .
Unfortunately, Dominique, who was the AFIS over there, is no longer in charge. He was a precious help for all pilots coming there .
I have heard Saumur will close soon or later ... what a pity . Such a nice place, such a nice airport .
As there is no longer AFIS, you should normally use auto-information ,in french.
No big deal if you get the standards procedures translated before.
Watch out for nuclear power plants in the Loire valley . Plenty of them and strictly forbidden to overfly .
Enjoy your flight, and feel free to contact me if you have any question
Nicolas