PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Single European Sky is here, now comes the bill
Old 26th Aug 2004, 16:55
  #50 (permalink)  
rustle
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Surrey, UK.
Posts: 0
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Okay, let's look at the usage fee issue and see where we are then...

Today of the 7 ICAO classes of airspace the UK uses 6 (no "C")

So "Pilot-X" in his C150 decides to go from farmstrip-1 (Class G) to farmstrip-2 (Class G) and he's transiting nothing higher than class E en-route and keeping well clear of the military low flying areas.

He's availed himself of NOTAM and MET from AvBrief where he is a paid-up subscriber.

He's VFR, talks to no-one en-route or at either farmstrip, and he keeps his conspicuity 7000 code plus "C" on from takeoff to touchdown.

Who should he pay, and for what should he pay?

---------------------

Sometime in the future, when airspace is reclassified either "Known" or "Unknown", the same pilot makes the same flight using the same tools talking to no-one, only this time he remains entirely in the "unknown" class of airspace.

Who should he pay, and for what should he pay?

---------------------

If you think he should pay for the use of the airspace whilst not receiving nor requiring any service from any ground-based aids/persons/authorities then sit back and enjoy - this is what will happen by default.

If, however, you think that charging fees in the scenario described above is wrong then you need to do something about it and that means responding to Eurocontrol in their preferred format , and copying it to the DfT.

They'll charge you for the air you breathe if you let them.

Unfortunately the people "responsible" for looking after Civil Aviation in the UK seem to have dropped the ball.

Again.
rustle is offline