Mike C.
You are absloutely spot on, with the minor but very important point that the vast majority of UK regional airports
DO provide exactly the service that you describe, and at a reasonable price.
We (like many other airports our size) offer long, hard runways, full ATC with radar, free met and flight planning and ground handling for G/A, all for less than £15 a landing.
Sure, the commercial traffic comes before the VFR G/A, but IFR traffic (G/A or CAT) is treated equally, and slotted in as the flow dictates (obviously training traffic comes second), and I'm sure you'll find this to be the case at most UK regional airports.
As I said earlier, there are some that don't need G/A, and will not change their minds for anyone, if you don't want to pay, go somewhere nearby - their loss.
A and C:
I wholly endorse the principal which the majority of UK airports that only charge a nominal fee for emergency diversions, I'm ashamed to admit that mine isn't one of them, nor is Luton by the look of it, but if your mate could only get his problem fixed at Luton, it looks like they had him by the short and curlies.
That said, the last thing on a pilots mind when he has a problem and has to divert, is what the landing fee might be.
Final 3 Greens - delete Buster! Where would Kylie sleep at night?
