Annecy Meythet Airport (LFLP)

After many years, flew to Annecy again. Preliminarily: the AIP/VAC states that (ALL) international flights require 24h PN. But if you ask, you’re told this does not apply to flights to or from, e.g., Germany (EU+Schengen). Great; please clarify your AIP/VAC entry! Also: if you want to fly here IFR coming from the northeast, unfortunately—at least as per flight plan—you have to climb to FL130/140, even though there are no particularly high mountains on that route. That makes it pretty impractical for most. So VFR; skirting just south of Lake Geneva works quite well (max FL85 possible on the PEL–SUVEL segment), provided there are no clouds in the way. Geneva Info kept me for quite a while; handover to Annecy Tower rather late. Initial radio contact with TWR was quite poor. They always strive to arrange approaches with minimal noise. Sometimes still a lot of traffic. For refueling, at row 6 turn off from taxiway Tango and then approach the fuel station from the northeast. Classic TOTAL fuel station. Currently 100LL with TOTAL-Card here is painfully expensive (€3.12/l) and thus a bit pricier than at other TOTAL fields. With credit card, even more expensive! By the way, there is also a pump for Aero Super+, but according to NOTAM it is currently unavailable. If you’re lucky, there may still be something available in the row of the 40s parking positions; then you can push the aircraft by hand there from the fuel station. NO tie-downs available. Then go on foot (no hi-vis required) to the Light Aircraft/Crew entrance in the small, fairly recently refurbished terminal building. This entrance leads directly to the desk where you pay the fees. Landing is really dirt cheap. Parking is EDEIS-typical a bit expensive over longer periods (there used to be somewhat cheaper grass parking, but not anymore), but if it’s only for a few hours, it’s acceptable. In total (with 6 hours of parking) and 1.5 tonnes I paid only about €20, which is of course unbeatable. There is currently no restaurant; on inquiry they say a new operator is being sought, but none has been found yet. There is a bus connection (except Sundays) with line 11, but it does not go all the way into the city; you have to change. Not worth it, since an UBER costs just under €20. Annecy itself has some lovely spots and the setting is fantastic. Unfortunately, at least on summer weekends the city is completely overrun by tourists. It’s really bad around the Palais de L'Isle; crowds from all over the world taking photos and consuming rather poor food. Accordingly, hotel rooms are very expensive on summer weekends. So this destination doesn’t 100% do it for me; I prefer to fly to LFLB and enjoy the Lac du Bourget and, if applicable, the city of Chambéry.

Uncomplicated straight-in approach and quick refueling at the fuel station using a BP Carnet. Landing fee for an AA5B was only 12 euros. The staff even interrupted their lunch break (in France!) so we could pay and be on our way. For a quick fuel stop, the better alternative to Chambery.