<<It is going. NATS said to BAA that they could provide a met service for a lot less money than the Met Office charge.>>
I wonder which genius arrived at that decision? Presumably Heathrow will then be a major international airport where the met observations are provided by unqualified staff!
What happens in marginal conditions - the word of the Met Obs can determine whether LVPs are introduced. Are they going to trust unqualified staff to make such decisions? I was one of the first UK ATCOs to undergo training for a Met Observers Certificate so that proper obs could be provided at my airfield and I know that it is very hard indeed to combine the two jobs..
Wonder what the airlines think?