Annemasse Airport (LFLI)

Nice airfield with busy traffic near the Swiss border. While AVGAS 100LL is available self-service with the TOTAL-Card, JET A1, even with the TOTAL-Card, requires on-site staff. After a short wait we were very courteously assisted by an airfield employee, who had to manually put the fuel pump into operation.

At the C-Büro, landing and takeoff must be self-logged on the iPad. Afterwards, someone at the office collects the landing fees. For a DR401 we had to pay 33,43€, which is clearly far too high for an uncontrolled airfield in France. It likely also includes some kind of 'customs fee' for our arrival from Switzerland, but this was not indicated anywhere.

Otherwise, everything as reported by Philipp. The chalet-style airfield building is really cozy, the staff and aeroclub members on site are all very friendly, but communication is only possible in French.

The Aeroclub there provides, during daytime on the A/A frequency, a kind of limited A/G radio service. This allows pilots to learn the runway in use without having to fly the “verticale terrain” (overhead join) procedure otherwise prescribed in FR. This is done to reduce noise and to avoid conflicts with parachute jumping. However, the club operator transmits only in French, and other pilots also make their position reports predominantly in French. And sometimes there is a lot of traffic! So—even though the VAC does not mandate FR-only—this is an aerodrome you should only plan to use if you can make position reports in French and can at least somewhat understand what others are saying on frequency. The Z and Y procedures are described on the VAC. After landing, coordinate your exact parking position with the ground station if necessary. Best to refuel with your own TOTAL card; otherwise it’s expensive.

The (cozy) Aeroclub bar on the field (with a view of the mountains) mainly serves beverages. A few hundred meters east of the airfield exit there is a decent restaurant, “Les Papilles.” In addition, about a five-minute walk west of the field there is a Europcar office (closed Saturday afternoons and Sundays); if arranged in advance, the car may be delivered to the field. This is ideal if you want to visit nearby Geneva, which is worth seeing. You can also get quickly to the center of Geneva from Annemasse station, but it’s quite a long walk from the field to the station (and the return is fairly steep uphill). There are also two Kyriad hotels and an Ibis hotel in the immediate vicinity of the field. The aerodrome is apparently not a customs airport “on paper”; however, flights to or from Switzerland are possible with only 1 h PN (see VAC). Direct flights to and from the British Isles (i.e., outside Schengen), however, have not been possible for several years.