Just to put my 2 fills worth into this discussion. Currently I’m a pilot with EK and we get a copy of the AFTN FPLN with the addressees ,with our documentation. Now in a previous life I was an ATC down in the South of the Dark Continent and when I was still an appy was seconded to the comm Centre, so I know how to read and address these things. Now to the point ,it has happened on more than on occasion whilst flying towards Europe that we are asked for our routing as the ATC unit does not have the FPLN and when checking the addressees on our copy of the AFTN FPLN the said ATC units are indeed in the address field. I normally inform the ATC of this fact and at what time the FPLN was sent and then no problem. Now my very old experience of the AFTN network is that sometimes things get lost in the system, so how can you be sure that these airlines you are punishing have not correctly filed and it has just got lost in the maze. If I where management of a “punished” flight I would withhold all and any over flying fee’s pending a full investigation as that flight did not get the service it is meant to get. Surely if the previous sector has a flight plan it must be assumed that one was correctly filed, and remember there are still a small number of operators that phone in to ATC and file or fax the form to an ATC unit, so who is to say that said ATC unit fouls up the addressees, And you punish the airline?????? Is it a surprise that Air Zim or flights out of Baghdad never have a FPLN, with the state of those places it would surprise me if the FPLN got beyond the airport boundary. Just remember the AFTN is not infallible.