Originally Posted by
India Four Two
In Canada (and all the other countries I have flown in), you are not cleared to land until you are number 1 and the runway is clear.
Its been in use at YYZ for at least 5 years. Unlike our FAA friends, we can't anticipate the separation with departing traffic in the mix and cannot clear an aircraft to land until a departure is actually rolling.
It does help reduce chatter on sometimes very busy frequencies (e.g. closely spaced parallels) but it is a controller judgement call and by no means is it a blanket clearance.
I agree with the comment regarding the check-in at the FAF requirement being a PITA. On a mixed mode runway you can almost guarantee that you will try to check-in just as the preceding arrival is landing and the controller is trying to line up the next departure. The FAF is the transfer of control point from arrival to tower and some believe the transfer of comms should be at the same inconvenient point. IMHO If you check-in a mile early there will be no problems and you are less likely to forget as you pass the FAF and get busier.