Handling agents
I'm not a frequent visitor to "big" airports, but I have visited a couple of them recently. There is, invariably, a requirement to be handled, and where this is the case, the VFR flight guides we use generally make it clear that this is the case, and give a list of handling agents.
However, in quite a few cases, it's possible to be handled by the local flying club. Yet I've never yet seen the local flying club listed in the VFR flight guides as a handling agent, despite the fact that this would be the best choice for most users of these guides.
Specific examples that I've encountered this year are Cardiff, Prestwick and Manchester.
So, the question - is there any "generic" advice which could be given if flying into an airport where handling is mandatory? Having decided I need to be at Anytown International Airport, how should I go about arranging the cheapest possible handling?
(And a side-issue - why do the flight guides not list the flying club as a handling agent? I think I know the answer to this - I'd guess it's because the airport authorities contribute most of the information in the guides, and they would rather you use the expensive handling agents because they make more money that way?)
FFF
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