If you carry out your own cross-border flights, you must enquire at the airfields about the applicable customs regulations for arrivals and departures.
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Cross-border flights must always take off from and land at a customs airfield (categories A to C). Any goods carried by you and your passengers, and any maintenance or repair work carried out on the aircraft, must be declared and cleared through customs where applicable.
In certain cases, it is also possible to take off from and land at a non-customs category D airfield (airfield with authorised traffic).
Airfields, Customs Categories, Customs Contact Addresses (PDF, 715 kB, 21.12.2023)(for smartphones and tablets the Adobe Reader App is required)
Please note that the aircraft itself may also be subject to customs formalities. Information on the use of uncleared aircraft can be found here.
Landing at a category D airfield
You may fly directly to a category D airfield if the following prerequisites are met:
- You are a Swiss resident and are flying on an aircraft that has been cleared through customs in Switzerland OR you are resident abroad.
If you are a Swiss resident and are flying on an aircraft that has not been cleared through customs, you must land at a customs airfield (categories A to C).
- You and your passengers are only carrying goods for your own private use within the duty-free allowances and the tax-free limit, or goods that you and your passengers have duly cleared through customs using QuickZoll. Customs clearance must have taken place before landing.
- You used QuickZoll to clear maintenance and repair work on a domestic aircraft used exclusively for private flights.
Please note the requirements for maintenance and repair work.
Customs clearance using QuickZoll must have taken place before landing.
An item – the aircraft – is always imported in the case of maintenance or repair work. This means that maintenance and repair work (including fitted new materials) costing more than CHF 300 is always subject to VAT, regardless of how many people are on the aircraft. See also the examples of how the tax-free limit is applied in the case of several people. If you use an app for your declaration (see QuickZoll) and declare goods for several people, you thus have to enter the corresponding value a second time under "Re-enter each item with a net value of over CHF 300 here".
In QuickZoll, you have to add the invoice number and upload the invoice for maintenance or repair work. In the absence of a final invoice, you must use a customs airfield (categories A to C).
You need to enter the number of the QuickZoll receipt in the technical files or corresponding documents. In addition, have the receipt sent to you by email and retain it.
Customs declarations for cross-border flights
Depending on the authorisation requirements, the completed and signed form must be sent to the airfield manager or to the customs control office.
Some airfields have designed their own (electronic) forms, which are recognised by the FOCBS. Please contact the airfield operators for more information.
