The Schengen Convention
and its relevance to
cross-border Microlight Flying
The situation in Malta.
What is the Schengen Convention?
The Schengen Convention allows the free
movement of European citizens across national
borders without the need for visas or passport
checks. This was designed to be a simple
liberalising measure to promote trade and
integration between different nationalities.
How does it work?
EU citizens can travel between or through the 25
states in the Schengen area without having their
passports checked. Meanwhile, the EU has one
external border at its outer limits. Under the
Convention all members of the area share
responsibility for policing the external borders.
Under the Schengen Information System (SIS)
customs, police and justice authorities in the
member states share information about
suspected criminals trying to enter the EU.
The
Schengen
Zone
How is it regulated?
Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 15 March
2006 establishing a Community Code on the
rules governing the movement of persons
across borders (Schengen Borders Code)
states that:
Extract pertaining to aircraft
movements
2.3. Checks on persons on private flights
• 2.3.1. In the case of private flights from or to third countries the captain shall
transmit to the border guards of the Member State of destination and, where
appropriate, of the Member State of first entry, prior to take-off, a general
declaration comprising inter alia a flight plan in accordance with Annex 2 to the
Convention on International Civil Aviation and information concerning the
passengers' identity.
• 2.3.2. Where private flights coming from a third country and bound for a Member
State make stop-overs in the territory of other Member States, the competent
authorities of the Member State of entry shall carry out border checks and affix an
entry stamp to the general declaration referred to in point 2.3.1.
• 2.3.3. Where uncertainty exists whether a flight is exclusively coming from, or
solely bound for, the territories of the Member States without stop-over on the
territory of a third country, the competent authorities shall carry out checks on
persons in airports and aerodromes in accordance with points 2.1 to 2.2.
• 2.3.4. The arrangements for the entry and exit of gliders, micro-light aircraft,
helicopters, small-scale aircraft capable of flying short distances only and airships
shall be laid down by national law and, where applicable, by bilateral
agreements.
The process of flying out of Malta
- Flight Plan is filed with Malta Air Traffic Services
(normally one day prior)
- Aircraft is boarded and taxied from Apron 5 to Apron 1
- Pilot & Passenger are picked up by car and driven from
Apron 1 to Airport Terminal
- Pilot & Passenger hand in general declaration form and is
driven back to the aircraft on Apron 1
- Pilot requests start-up clearance from tower and
confirms that immigration clearance has been received
- Flight departs Malta to destination
- Same process is repeated upon arrival back in Malta
Charges for transfer to & from the terminal
Malta International Airport charges us € 70 each
time we visit the Immigration Police Office, since
they drive us from our aircraft to the terminal
and back. Hence a day-trip to Sicily will involve
paying € 140 in charges, simply to present a
general declaration upon departure from and
arrival in Malta, when in actual fact this should
not even be required since we are travelling
within the Schengen area and at no point are we
leaving it.
In Conclusion
•
A flight plan is filed for each and every flight leaving Malta, containing information
about passengers onboard and destination of flight.
•
No uncertainty is present with respect to our destination since this is always
clearly declared and reported.
•
Flight is operated in a controlled airspace environment; hence air traffic control is
aware of our position at all times. We phone the respective Air Traffic Provider/s to
report arriving at our destination and to close the flight-plan after each flight.
•
All flights are performed within the Schengen area, in conformity with
international air regulations.
•
Immigration Police at the airport have told us on several occasions that it is not
necessary for us to file a general declaration when travelling to Italy, however we
must do so since Air Traffic Control will not clear us for departure without prior
immigration clearance. Meanwhile Malta International Airport state that the
Immigration Police do require the procedure to be in place, and they simply charge
a fee (albeit a highly inflated one) to transport us to the terminal building and back
to the aircraft.