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Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Thu May 28, 2020 11:41 pm
by johnda
skydriller wrote:
johnda wrote:Popped over to Calais today. Everything went very smoothly.

Interested to learn if you filled in the french authorisation (downloadable from the gouv.fr website) for inter-europe travel and if anyone asked for it ... or even gave a hoot???

To any other brits, make the most of this week to visit the "green zone" before any "reciproccal quarantine rules"..

Regards, SD..


Yes we filled in the form and sent an email to the French customs with our personal details and flight details. We did not see any customs officers at Calais at any stage. On arrival back in Blighty we had a warm welcome from the Border Force waiting for us... I mean it. They were very nice and no problem there either.

NOTE for most Brits: It woud seem that France wil be completely opening its borders on 15 June (of course if our UK "Supreme Leader" sticks to his quarantine we will all effectively be banned from all travel). At the moment, basically, one has to be either a French citizen or a French resident.

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 7:01 am
by malcolmfrost
So what was your essential travel category?

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 9:20 am
by djtaylor
If he was restocking the wine cellar and cheese store, is that not essential?

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 10:19 am
by ak7274
malcolmfrost wrote:So what was your essential travel category?


Checking his eyesight was OK for flying over water. :D

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 10:34 am
by skydriller
I suspect John may be French... contrary to the UK sitation, the French have Laws that tell you specifically what you are allowed to do.

From this side of the channel I have been amazed that over the last couple of months the UK population (including pilots) and especially media have been unable to understand how the UK system works and try to find ways to make all sorts of things "illegal" when they clearly are not.

Regards, SD..

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 11:30 am
by johnda
ak7274 wrote:
malcolmfrost wrote:So what was your essential travel category?


Checking his eyesight was OK for flying over water. :D

Just checking out that people were social-distancing at 5000 feet over water.

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 11:33 am
by johnda
djtaylor wrote:If he was restocking the wine cellar and cheese store, is that not essential?
Quite so... and even buying face masks.!

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 11:39 am
by johnda
BTW, I had a phone call from the police this morning saying that the Border Force had contated them. The Police asked me if my trip was "essential travel". I said it was "psychologivcally essential" for me and my wife and we had a great welcome at Calais. I then went on to say that seriously, the flight was a "recreational flight" and that was allowed. He was nice and very apologetic and admitted that I knew a lot more about it than he did and wished me "have a nice day and enjoy your flying"!

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 2:08 pm
by malcolmfrost
skydriller wrote:I suspect John may be French... contrary to the UK sitation, the French have Laws that tell you specifically what you are allowed to do.

From this side of the channel I have been amazed that over the last couple of months the UK population (including pilots) and especially media have been unable to understand how the UK system works and try to find ways to make all sorts of things "illegal" when they clearly are not.

Regards, SD..

Just trying to understand the situation with cross border flying. We can go to the FIR boundary but then things will change. It wouldn’t be good if numerous people decide to fly to France at the weekend and get nicked by the Frozzers :D
https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/content/download/122390/982138/file/20-05-2020-attestation-de-deplacement-international-derogatoire-provenance-europe-en.docx

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 5:49 pm
by johnda
malcolmfrost wrote:Just trying to understand the situation with cross border flying. We can go to the FIR boundary but then things will change. It wouldn’t be good if numerous people decide to fly to France at the weekend and get nicked by the Frozzers :D
https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/content/download/122390/982138/file/20-05-2020-attestation-de-deplacement-international-derogatoire-provenance-europe-en.docx


The French form is very clear, and I would advise anyone who is not able to tick any of those boxes to refrain from landing in France.

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 6:49 pm
by Maxthelion
I'd just like to say how much I appreciate the addition of the word 'Frozzers' to my vocabulary. Thank you.

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Fri May 29, 2020 6:55 pm
by malcolmfrost
Maxthelion wrote:I'd just like to say how much I appreciate the addition of the word 'Frozzers' to my vocabulary. Thank you.

Not my original, nicked from somewhere!

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Sat May 30, 2020 7:38 am
by Jonzarno
contrary to the UK sitation, the French have Laws that tell you specifically what you are allowed to do.


I’ve always thought that to be a rather strange concept.

For example: is there a law there that permits you to fly whilst wearing trousers? :roll: :D

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Sat May 30, 2020 7:49 am
by johnm
In crude terms, and I'm not a Lawyer, Common Law says that you can do what you like unless it's forbidden, but there is a test of "reasonableness" .

The Napoleonic code on which law in most of Europe is based on the principle that you can't do anything unless it is permitted, but that has some practical difficulties which mean that case law and "reasonableness" have to be employed.

Re: COVID-19 and General Aviation

PostPosted:Sat May 30, 2020 8:48 am
by skydriller
johnm wrote:The Napoleonic code on which law in most of Europe is based on the principle that you can't do anything unless it is permitted, but that has some practical difficulties which mean that case law and "reasonableness" have to be employed.


What it does mean is that the Rules about what it was (and still is) allowed to do were very limited here over the last couple of months...