Firstly, a couple of ‘givens’:
- Emirates is DXB’s biggest customer
- Emirates aircraft (except one) all have datalink
- Many other users of DXB also have datalink
While it will be a great improvement to separate the ADC and Ground frequencies, (as only occasionally seems to happen lately), let’s drag DXB into the 21st century with something that’s been in use elsewhere for ages now – datalink.
DATALINK
Could we please have datalink as soon as possible for pre start airways clearances at DXB? It would go a long way towards reducing the terrible bottlenecks around 2.00 am and 7.30 am as God only knows how many people try to squeeze a word in edgeways. It’s like Mumbai HF some mornings.
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A….T….I….S
I also have to agree with the many comments re DXB’s too long ATIS. It’s almost as bad as CDG where you have to sit through the French edition before they deign to parlez to us in (puh!) Anglais.
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As for the personal complaints: I think I speak for the majority of DXB ATC users when I say that most of us understand that the silliness we sometimes see inflicted upon us is as frustrating for the ATCOs as it is for us. Like us, they’re only wing a set of ‘rools’ laid down for them by people who know better.
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HOLDING
Re the holding stack: I’m more than a little anal retentive about fuel, and I really don’t like the cross country tours I all too frequently get after I’ve been cleared from DESDI or wherever. On occasion, I’ve burnt so much more than expected after leaving the stack going into DXB that I would have been seriously embarrassed had I been held in the stack to within a few minutes of my ‘bug out’ figure. (Like many, I suspect, I’ve since increased my ‘bug out’ figure for DXB.)
I’d really like to see the LHR system, where you have a fair to middlin’ idea (to within 100 to 200 kgs) of how much you’re going to burn after you leave the hold. Whoever it was who suggested inviting ATCOs to the next pilot meeting was inspired. Damn good idea.
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Finally, it’s refreshing to find Pprune actually being used for what I suspect Danny created it for. I recall a similar thread some time ago about 777-300 approach speeds into LHR that seemed to have a very positive effect on both camps understanding of the others’ positions and preferences. Let’s hope this one has a similar effect.