Airport Sylt (EDXW) IFR

Flew to Westerland/Sylt once again in July for an appointment (fully aware of all the negatives). The opening hours, fees, and especially the PPR fees are, as is well known, a scandal, so you really shouldn’t fly there anymore. TWR was at least cooperative; they were already reachable on frequency at 09:55h and let me make the approach, so I could land at 10:01h. Runway 06/24 and especially the turnoff to Apron 2 are in very poor condition; it’s been like that for years and nothing is being done. Flight was VFR, with 1.5 tonnes, 5 hours parking, and four POB. In the end, including Austrocontrol, it came to €113—so not quite as wild as feared; hence two stars. Still far too much, of course. 100LL at €2.84 is not particularly attractive either. They also insist on hi-vis vests on the apron. Nothing else noteworthy to report. Unfortunately, there has been no App2Drive for quite some time. Taxi to the harbor in List is now just under €50; UBER is apparently a bit cheaper but can mean long wait times. Gosch (has taken over almost all restaurants in List) is now quantity over quality. Still nice (though of course not cheap) in List is the Strandsauna https://www.strandsauna.info/.

Remarks: I flew a C172 to Sylt for an overnight and can only report good things. Entry completely hassle-free via the Sierra route, simple and clear radio comms, then straight to base and final for runway 32, followed by straightforward taxi instructions. Taxied directly to the fuel station, unlocked without fuss and fueled, then parked the aircraft and secured it with ropes to the ground tie-down rings, and done. In total it took at most 20 minutes. Fuel could be paid by card. The next morning I paid 24€ for one night, even got an ice cream, and departed from runway 14 fifteen minutes later. The fuel-and-fish-sandwich voucher apparently no longer exists. Important: 1. Don’t forget a high-visibility vest. 2. Check opening hours beforehand; in my case they opened at 10 LT instead of 0900. 3. SIXT delivers the rental car directly to the GAT if you enter “GAT” as the flight number during the booking. In my case a friendly staff member drove the car over within 15 minutes and I could drive off after one minute. Overall, a clear recommendation from me.

Everything about Sylt has basically been said—friendly staff at the GAT, customs automatically notified for entry from Norway, gorgeous approach.

However: When asked, it seems the charm offensive is over; IFR approach and 1 night of parking for a C182 comes to a bit over 107 EUR. Part of the fees appears to be triggered by the I-Plan. Compared with other airfields of similar size, that seems a bit much.