Thats something I don't understand. Why did FAM flights stop all around the world when in reality what threat is a properly credentialled security checked Air Traffic Controller going to pose. I agree with all above it was a valuable tool in understanding the other guys job a little better, and most importantly when a pilot may be busy or quiet. It also broke down a little of the animosity between pilots and controllers that sometimes builds up.
Why is it that airlines don't make it policy that for even a couple of hours each year, all pilots must sit with a controller at the radar and maybe understand the pressures we are under. It could only help everyone involved. In the almost 10 years as a controller I have seen a handful of pilots visit, and usually whisked through by a manager on the propoganda tour and then off for tea and sandwiches, never actually stopping with us as the coal face for a while. Just an idea.