Ah, the old terrorist card being played. Another success in knee jerking for Bin Laden and his cronies
The locked door policy was in place on board US aircraft and didn't prevent September 11th, peoples perception of how the terrorist would behave was different back then, and this formed how pilots behaved in such situations. The world is a different place now with respect to the flight deck and how crews will deal with things. Its relevance and comparison to ATC visits is tenous at best.
The ATC facility is a totally different kettle of fish and it's wrong try and assert it is an easy way to manufacture another terrorist atrocity using aircraft. It's Sun journo wishful thinking. There are other independent parts of the whole aviation system which mean that the pilot does not rely 100% on the ATC system for his safety and that of others. He has SOPs, equipment on board his and other aircraft, and other crew members, all of which are barriers to some terrorist setting something up using ATC which is going to cause a crew to kill lots of innocent people. ATC can't directly control the profile of the aircraft if the pilot has doubts about what instructions are being issued or if collision avoidance equipment is warning him of something dangerous. Quite simply, and without spilling in to the precise details, there is ample opportunity and safeguarding for pilots to smell a rat if someone is trying to manufacture a collision, either with another aircraft or terrain.
Visits by prospective staff members serve a useful purpose and there is no reason to hide behind any perceived and unquantifiable threat to try and stifle them. There is just as big a risk of a colleague, a delivery man, a cleaner, a contractor, a visiting pilot popping in to pay their landing fee, etc, etc, being a terrorist as any visitor who has gone through the same kind of 'security' processes to gain access. If the threat was actually a high and real risk, then I have no doubt that the authorities would advise relevant managements not only of the threat, but also about restrictions which the Government would wish to place upon access.
In spite of SATCO Biggins assertions (which deserve a return
), NATS units up and down the country do allow visits. It is not necessarily an easy process of course, and some methods (such as getting someone you know in ATC to do the arranging) are of course quicker and more pain free than others (NATS HR route !!), but nevertheless they do take place and many of us take the time to look after people, show them around, and try to answer their questions and fears.
Only today I noticed a young lass in our ATC facility who I remember showing around a year or so back, and who is now obviously coming through the NATS training system. So not only does the process of visiting possibly benefit them, it provides those of us who take the time to remove the secrecy and aura of mystery of ATC life with the knowledge that what we do is worthwhile and can perhaps make the difference to someones career aspirations.