The French authorities have removed customs and immigration facilities from 13 small airports. The surprise move has already heavily impacted St Tropez La Mole airport, which caters for many high net worth property owners and visitors to the Cote d’Azur. Under the new rules, flights from outside the Schengen common travel area will be unable to land in St Tropez, necessitating helicopter transfers from airports such as Cannes and Toulon that retain customs facilities. It is understood that 30% of traffic into St Tropez originated in the UK, Russia and the Middle East before the restrictions were introduced.