ATC Routing N866 or R1

[Charlie Fox]

Can somebody explain to me why a turboprop from Guernsey to Birmingham can route N866 SAM WCO & a jet from Guernsey to Birmingham has to route R1 MID OCK ????, even though they are at the same cruising level.

[Fox3snapshot]

is it speed related???

:confused:

[Lon More]

Maybe because they are at the same cruising level

[Not Long Now]

Please don't bite my head off, I'm only offering an opinion, and it may be wrong but...
Inbounds to BB/BE/NX, in a perfect world, would all route up the eastern side of the DTY CTA, purely because that's the way the traffic flows are organised, N bound on the E, S bound on the W, so routeing OCK HEMEL WELIN is for the majority.
Now for this route to work you have to be FL180+ or lots of other people get involved. So there's a get out for those who can't, or say they can't make FL180, which is SAM CPT WCO HON/DTY. If you're in a jet which can make FL180+ you should be going up the east side, and if you just happen to be lower then it's a case of see what's coming and can we get you up the WCO side. (Generally not cos the WCO side usually resembles an avalanche of a/c heading to the TMA or out of BB etc going south, and you'd be going head on to them all!)

[Goldfish Watcher]

Im sorry, but I can't tell you why jets aren't allowed to route SAM-NORRY-WCO.

All I can say is, that's what it says in the good book (MATS part2), so that's the way we have to do it. Even theough I havent a clue why. Most likely to be the reason offered by NLN. if everyone piled up the west side it would shaft the traffic flow.

It's not nice having to tell you BEE lads that your going to have to go via MID, coz you generally plod up and down N866 accepting all the lefts and rights with no complaints.

I have seen a couple of Dash 8s, on radar, going particularly quickly up N866 and wondered on occasion whether it was really a 146 in disguise! Never got round to nipping out to the Swanwick canteen as you cross SAM to see if you have filed porkies to get up the west side!

If I had anything to do with it even the TPs would go via MID coz at FL170 you really get into the mixing pot in the SAM area with TMA departures. Excellent airprox opportunities every day. :uhoh: