We all know that the Basel / Mulhouse airport (or Basel Mulhouse Freiburg Euroairport) is an odd case. It’s binational, with a French side and a Swiss side; it boasts three airport codes (that I know of): BSL, MLH, and EAP.
What I didn’t know was that the code can make a difference. Search Air France for a flight from BSL to ORY (Paris Orly, where I flew this Monday), and the site sends you on a Basel-Lyon-Limoges-Paris touristic excursion that takes half a day to complete. Search Air France for a flight from MLH to ORY and there are several direct flights a day. I’m glad I insisted, and I feel a bit proud that I beat Routerank.com for the quickest trip Basel-Orsay (3:15 instead of 4:44).
What I also didn’t know was the power of real-time GPS. With the traffic information the GPS had, we got from the customer site to the Orly airport with nary a snag – and several times peered off bridges onto bumper-bumper traffic.
And a final thing I didn’t know was that I can smuggle a small Swiss army knife on board. I discovered I’d forgotten to put it in my check-in luggage and decided it was worth a try stuffing it with all my other pocket junk in my jacket. Nobody blinked an eye.
But I’ve heard rumors that for those small ones it’s again legal and maybe my smuggling adventure was just a exercise in misinformation.
Sadly, even those tiny knives are no go here — which is certifiably nuts, since nail files and even scissors with 4-inch blades are okay, both of which are more dangerous than those tiny key chain knives. I love mine, and don’t want to lose it! I probably should carry a self-addressed, stamped envelope with me in case I forget sometime.
And, should you ever look for flights to Basel on the Air France/KLM/Delta network, make sure to check flights to MLH or EAP too!
I’m afraid to check the IBM site for flights from Bangkok to MLH or EAP as I already have the Turkish Air reservations — but I have a feeling I will check anyway this weekend.
I told Routerank about my discovery, and received the following answer:
Wow – I feel useful!
I’m in awe of Google Translate. Copy, paste, click, and presto!
Dear Stücklin,
Thank you for your valuable feedback. Especially the words of the other two airport codes (MLH, EAP) was very helpful. This issue was not previously known to us, and we are working to fix it as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Your routeRANK team