Flying to Basel

[ClubSmed]

I am planning on flying into Basel next year, but am actually going to be staying in Mulhouse.
I know that Basel is a multi country airport with BSL for Swiss side, and MLH for French side.
The BA flights only seem to be listed for BSL and not MLH.
Does that mean that I will not be able to exit on the French side and will have to go out the Swiss side?
The reason I ask is the car hire seems to depend on which exit you take.

Thanks for any and all help

[ed_fly]

Last time i checked, huge price difference depending on which side you pick up the car.

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

On arrival, you will have to choose an exit, either to the French sector or to the Swiss sector. If you made a mistake, go up to departures and correct it. This is an “open border”.

[ClubSmed]

Great, thanks.
So just to clarify…
Even if my ticket states flying to BSL, I can still go out the MLH exit of the airport without any issue?

[hugog]

Definitely – it will be really clear at baggage reclaim which side you are going out into.

[Froggee]

As an example albeit from the 1990s.

I went to visit my brother in Basel who was working there for several months.

On landing there was a weird announcement asking two people that sounded like a combination of my names to report to the French side. (They read the Mc as Mr). Because I was 18 but already a fully developed idiot I went to the Swiss side anyway,

Luckily my brother spotted me from the French side and shouted at me to come back. This was fortunate given that mobile phones were only for Wall Street bankers then. I secured passage to the Swiss side by showing a fellow my passport but he wasn’t very interested.

It then turned out that one of my brother’s colleagues had given him a lift to the airport but inadvertently had dropped him on the French side which was easily done as the French apparently cared much less about Swiss people entering France than vice versa.

Therefore my brother was in the wrong country without his passport. Yes my brother inherited the idiot gene too.

We took a taxi to “400 metres from the Swiss border”. I then got out and walked across the border carrying my big rucksack looking like a backpacker tourist. My brother followed a couple of minutes later doing his best to look like a Swiss person. I have memories that this involved carrying a clipboard he had in his briefcase.

As it was neither of us got stopped but it was an amusing start to a holiday other than me still being massively hungover as back then I drank professionally.

[ClubSmed]

Great, thanks everyone for the clarifications and assurances.
A special thanks to Froggee for one of the always great stories.

[Lady London]

Not only the price, but also the spec of vehicle and booking conditions, can vary greatly between the Swiss and French sides. (eg winter tyres).

Also allow a lot of time to drop the car back at the same-country side of the airport on your return. Particularly if your return approach is from the “wrong” country. It can easily take 15 mins more than you thought even if there are no traffic holdups.

[Nico]

Super simple, exit on the French side. And yes cars much cheaper, family lives in mulhouse so I go very often.

[iamlost]

After passport control, it’s left for the French exit and right for the Swiss exit. It’s well signposted but even if you get it wrong, it’s just as easy to walk across landside as it’s all one building.

Source: I fly there a few times a month.

[MF176]

On your return you’ll find the views from the lounge very agreeable (if you like planes and watching stuff happen) as it’s up in a control tower esq vantage point – one of my favourites.

[John]

In 2019 and again in 2022 I walked across the landside “border” in the airport (which is located on the basement level) about 10 times within 10 minutes.

[Michael C]

You definitely want to avoid any Basel brush with the law.

[Froggee]

Ha ha ha ha ha boom boom!

[Michael C]

Froggee wrote:

Ha ha ha ha ha boom boom!

;o)

[Richie]

Some may want to avoid a rumoured Basel brush with the Eurovision song contest 2025.

[DarrenS]

Lady London wrote:

Also allow a lot of time to drop the car back at the same-country side of the airport on your return. Particularly if your return approach is from the “wrong” country. It can easily take 15 mins more than you thought even if there are no traffic holdups.

I have done this. Approached from the Swiss side when I wanted to be on the French side. Stopped by the Swiss Border officials who searched the whole car. Took over an hour.

[Richie]

It’s Basel for Eurovision 25.