Flying to France– Trip Planning Guide

If you are planning a trip to France for the first time, there are number of tasks you have to prepare for in advance.

RocketRoute is here to help you with our Trip Planning Team and with all the details if you prefer to Do It Yourself.

Overview

There are 5 points to consider before flying to France:

1. Select  Airport of Entry (AOE)

2. Check passport and visa requirements

3. Ensure you have a landing permit

4. Receive Prior Permission Required

5. Ensure you have a valid airport slots

1) Airport of Entry (AOE)

Always check if the airport you are flying to is a port of entry and will accept an international arrival.

Listed below are the most popular airports for business and commercial flights in France which are airports of entry:

To see the full list of the Airports of Entry visit the online Wikipedia page. Click on the "Visit" below:

2) Passports and Visa Requirements:

There are certain requirements for passport and visas when entering France.

The chart below refers to named countries. If you are not a national of the below it is recommended you check with your local embassy or consulate for entry requirements.

Passports: 

A passport should be  valid for three months beyond the length of stay and has been issued within the past 10 years this is required by all nationals listed in the chart above except for EU nationals.

For EU nationals the requirement is that a national should be holding a passport or national ID card which is valid for the duration of stay.

If travelling from one border-free Schengen country to another, however, EU nationals are not required to show a passport or national ID card. It is still recommended that you travel with your passport or ID card to prove your identity if necessary though.

Note that Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the UK are not part of the Schengen area, so a passport or ID card is required if travelling to/from these countries.

EU nationals are not required to possess a return ticket or show sufficient funds.

Passport note: 

The passport and visa requirements for travellers visiting Monaco as tourists are the same as for France. Monaco is not a member of the EU,so residency and long-stay requirements differ and are liable to change. For further details, contact any French Consulate (or consular section at embassy).

Visas: 

Neither visas, return tickets nor sufficient funds for the length of their proposed visit are not required by nationals referred to above.

Nationals not referred to in the chart are advised to contact the embassy for visa requirements.

Types and cost: 

Transit/short-stay Schengen visa: €60. This typically covers tourism, business or family visits for nationals requiring a visa. Long-stay visa: €99. 

Please check with your local French Embassy for the most up-to-date prices.

Validity: 

Short-stay/Schengen visa: up to 90 days within a six-month period. It can be issued for one entry or multiple entries into the Schengen area and can be valid for up to five years.

Long-stay visa: this is a national visa that entitles you, whatever the reason for your stay, to live in France for more than three months. It is not a Schengen visa. Some categories of long-stay visa are valid as residence permits for the first year of your stay in France.

To apply for France Visa, visit France embassy website for each passenger and crew members country. A useful link is provided below:

3) Overflights and Landing Permits:

Overflight permits are generally not required for France.

All charter operators must have a landing permit to operate to France with three non objections from the DGAC.  If this is not obtained in advance to departure the aircraft may be grounded and impounded.

The official permit lead time is five business days and France does not process routine landing permit requests on weekends or holidays. Please ask your handling agent or visit the DGAC website for the latest information.

4) PPRs:

A PPR or Prior Permission Required is required for certain airports in France. PPRs are often related to airport parking availability. Airports such as Nice (LFMN), Cannes (LFMD), Toulon (LFTH), Chambery (LFLB), both Lyon airports (LFLL) and (LFLY) are PPR airports. Some PPR requirements are seasonal or only in effect during special event periods. PPR requests are usually made by ground handlers to local airport authorities or the Chamber of Commerce at some smaller regional airports. Once a schedule is in place, requests should be submitted as soon as possible. Full operator and aircraft information as well as passenger and crew information should be included when requesting a PPR. The PPR confirmation number should be placed in remarks section 18 of the ICAO flight plan.

5) Airport Slots:

Airport congestion exists in France, particularly during special event periods, as well as summer months in the South of France and in winter months at airport such as Chambery for the ski season. For business aircraft operators best practice is to be aware of airport slot windows and to request and revise airport slots as soon as possible.

Airport slots are required at many airports in France and seem to be becoming the norm due to increased traffic to the region. Certain airports only issue slots during special event periods. For this reason, it’s best to request airport slots as early as possible. Many airports have their own websites for processing airport slot requests.

Airport slot request lead times vary depending on airport. Some locations require 24-48 hours advance notification. It’s always best to provide as much notification as possible. Short notice airport slot requests will likely experience delays or denials, depending on airport congestion and the local parking situation. The airport slot coordinator will approve slots, but in some cases, you may not be informed of your airport slot until closer to the day of operation like in Paris for example.

Most airport authorities in France give airport slot priority to scheduled commercial operations. Medevac, or air ambulance, flights are typically given airport slot priority and some diplomatic flights (if a head of state is on board) also have priority.

Airport slot validity times vary by airport and some airports are more tolerant of airport slot deviations than others. Please plan accordingly and advise your French airport of any changes especially during peak periods.

Closing Points:

• As with all trips please ensure you have all valid aircraft documents on board in case of any inspections these are regular in France.
• Ensure all passengers and crew have correct documentation to enter the France.
• Ensure you have valid airport slots for slot coordinated airports and if you are delayed, you should update the slots with your handling agent or directly through COHOR who issues slots in France.
• In winter months check for weather conditions as adverse weather can cause serious delays.
• If you are planning trips in peak season you should submit parking and slots requests as soon as possible.

Let Us Help You

If you are travelling to the France and have questions regarding trip planning, call RocketRoute's operations support team  24/7:

N. America: +1 321 473 7423
UK: +44 1273 782130
DE: +49 4161 2063 86
FR: +33 970 448 557
AT: +43 720 883 147

If you are not a RocketRoute User and wish to enjoy benefits of RocketRoute membership, please contact our Sales Team:

We wish you a safe and pleasant trip!