jamespi

Travelling into France late July but BA flights to LYS appear to start on 1st August. Destination is also accessible from Geneva (and there is decent avios availability!), but with things as they are I wasn't sure if it is possible to get from the international sector to the French one without crossing the border by road. The airport website implies this is necessary, but elsewhere contradicts itself.

Don't suppose anyone has done this in recent days, being as flights to GVA seem to be one of the few routes maintained in that area?

tiffwhat

Have done exactly as you are suggesting, travelled to GVA 4 days ago with Swiss, asked if I was transiting to France on arrival at GVA (not asked for any proof of this), drove straight through the French border crossing on the motorway towards Annecy and was not stopped at any point (in a French number plated car it should be said). The border crossing points are all open. Was a very easy journey...

omk298

Not entirely sure what you mean, but if you're referring to the French sector of the airport then there's a signposted path from arrivals to the French sector, within the building. I used it a few years ago to pick a hire car up for a trip to France.it was still there in February this year. I guess Covid might have closed it, but I can't see why it would.

amt

It's a 40 franc taxi to circle the airport from the Swiss to the French side...

If you're asking is it possible to cross the border from Switzerland to France at the moment. I'm not sure, last time I heard crossing into Switzerland was closed for everyone but Swiss nationals and permanent residents.

brunos

It is usually possible to arrive on the Swiss side and cross border to the French side within the airport.
AF still have flights to GVA, so the path should still be open as France now allows EU+ tourists.

Concerto

That became really tricky to do for some months in 2019, even if you had a rental car booked on the French side. I managed to bluff my way through (by saying I would be taking an evening AF flight to Paris and luckily could remember the right flight numbers to tell the guy, making it more convincing) but it was touch and go. The people working at the car rental companies were getting really annoyed about it, because it is so pointless and they were losing clients (it's more like something ridiculous you would get in a place like the US, not Switzerland). Now, it has been modified and if you're renting a car or doing one of several other things you can go through. The same problem existed for going from the French to the Swiss side, which was even trickier IMO, but I was trying to go from the French check-in area back to Switzerland. I wouldn't assume that it's now totally obstacle free, however.

alex67500

There's a transborder agreement about GVA, with the same in reverse for BSL (or more accurately MLH). GVA is on Swiss soil, but there is a fenced off access road so if you're going to France you can exit on that side and get a car on the French side. You follow the road for a little while (look for Geneva Airport - French Side on Google Maps) which is before the border crossing. It's not the shortest way in/out, but if you must avoid Switzerland as a whole, you can. Side note: duty free from the UK wouldn't be allowed via that exit. Inside the airport there are signs to the French side. I've not gone through there for a while so I don't know if the border inside is manned.

BSL is the opposite, situated on French soil, but with a Swiss exit and a fenced off access road which leads you to the Swiss side of the main border crossing. You pick either Switzerland or France/Germany (Schengen) on exiting arrivals. There's an official border crossing in the departure hall upstairs, but I've rarely seen anyone there or been checked. I usually arrive from France, but BA's check-in desks are on the Swiss side -- however if you book flight+car with BA, the car usually is with Avis Switzerland, so careful there. Airside there are no differences, so duty free works on the way to the UK.

catandmouse

Crossing between the Swiss and French sectors in GVA used to be as simple as just walking through the corresponding passage, with very rare views of a customs officer. A couple of years ago the French authorities decided to strictly implement the agreement which covers the crossing, which is now only accessible to passengers with a same day flight (arriving or departing). On occasion it gets extended to allow a following day flight. The boarding pass or flight itinerary are inspected before you can use the passage. Other than passengers who are genuinely flying, the passage is also used by those collecting rental cars on the French side.
If you try and play the system, for example wanting to collect a French rental car, without having flown, you will probably be turned back. You need to know that there is no public transport on the French side, taxis are generally available only on call and you cannot walk along the 4 km long access road taking you back into France (and enclosed with barbed wire).
I have no idea what the Covid crisis did to these arrangements, but there were only 3-4 flights a day and the border was anyway closed until 15 June.

cluckinghen

Does anyone know whether you pass by Swiss or French immigration if going to the French sector?

I am a non-EU+ citizen permanently resident in the UK, so with the current restrictions I am allowed entry into France but NOT into Switzerland. Would immigration at GVA let me through if I tell them I am going straight to the France sector? Or would BA even let me board the flight at Heathrow?

Thanks.

KeaneJohn

From what I recall you have to pass Swiss immigration and the signs for the French sector are landslide after arrivals.

plunet

The answer is on the GVA airport website.



It would seem the answer is no....

alex67500

Different to BSL then. Immigration is the same (sometimes you get Swiss border police, sometimes French), and you pick which side you exit after the luggage belts.

catandmouse

Currently UK residents are allowed to enter Switzerland. It's not a question of your nationality, but where you are resident. So you should have no problem arriving in Geneva from the UK, where you will enter the Schengen zone through Swiss immigration. If you have access to France you have access to Switzerland. If you want to exit to the French sector, you will go landside in the Swiss sector, go up a floor to the departures level and follow signs to the French sector (the access is at the north-eastern end of the terminal). You will have to show a same day valid boarding pass or itinerary and may have to explain why you want to cross into the French sector. Unless you're collecting a French rental car or are being picked up in the French sector, there really is no reason to go to the French side. Generally there are no border checks in the passage, but you may occasionally meet a customs agent (checking for goods, rather than passports).
The process is indeed different from BSL. I imagine the agreements between the Swiss and French governments governing the operation of the two airports are very different. BSL is on French territory, whilst GVA is on Swiss territory so that might have something to do with it.