London ATC ?
English ATCO's may be the "best in the world", but I am afraid that the ATC system isn't any more. Hand over to London from Brest, France or Maastricht and these days my heart sinks. It is often difficult to establish contact because of the plethora of instructions being given to aircraft without any break in between. When a break occurs it is often corrupted by the queue of aircraft then simultaneously transmitting their check in. At the FIR/UIR boundaries most aircraft are starting or in the early stages of their descent profile which only adds to the imperitive.
I appreciate the need to better utilize spacings for the benefit of everybody and this often requires heading and speed variations from those associated with the SID's & STAR's. I don't doubt that lack of investment is also a factor in pushing the system to its limits. However the constant overlap of transmissions does nothing to enhance safety or efficiency and seems to be at least in some significant measure a result of the stream of instructions and lack of adequate transmission breaks.
Obviously this is a one way viewpoint, and I would be interested in hearing the ATCO's views. This criticism is not particularly levelled at ATCO's for the reasons I have already stated. However arriving into UK airspace may once have felt like arriving home, now it feels more like shooting the last class 5 rapid before arriving home ( only not as enjoyable!). Is there anything that can be done to improve the communications aspect ? Can SID's & STARS be better utilized or adjusted to cut down on multiple instructions without causing undue additional delays ? Any suggestions, comments, observations ?