Originally Posted by
chevvron
Maybe it stems from the few pilots in the UK who have trained in the USA where if you call an ATC unit for transit and they say 'standby' without adding 'remain outside controlled airspace' you can still enter the CTR.
I only ever noticed one ATC unit, Southampton, who would routinely say 'remain outside controlled airspace' even when accepting a radar handover, but that was before I retired just over 11 years ago for low level traffic; if it was about FL60 or higher they would issue a clearance via the SAM
Not just UK pilots trained in the States, continental light aircraft struggled with the concept too. Luton in the '80s & '90s, remain outside was used regularly, whether a handover or a freecall: at times the airspace was already approaching capacity, no way you'd want someone barging through without being 100% sure you knew what they were doing. Never had a complaint from aircraft or the transferring agency, either: if they grumbled in the cockpit, they kept it to themselves, I imagine. They rarely actually suffered any delay, it was more an insurance against infringement issues, since the airspace constraints meant most clearances were tactical, rather than procedural. Paperwork only triggered if there was a problem, which zone infringements absolutely were, & I imagine, still are.. No idea what the situation is since Farnborough picked up the baton.