Here is an interesting article from the Autumn 2005 edition of CHIRP
minutes before the zone boundary, requested MATZ penetration and received a squawk. With approximately 3 minutes to run to the zone boundary I was notified of my position, but given no clearance. I asked "do I have clearance" and was told to "stand by". As I approached the zone boundary, again I requested clearance and again was told to "stand by". Though not required by law to avoid the stub, as I had asked for a clearance and not received one, I elected to fly around the zone. Once on the other side, I called BBB and made it clear that I was still "standing by" and in the meantime had flown all around the perimeter of the zone. Whilst listening, I heard another pilot who was also obviously disgruntled at not receiving a clearance.
Once back on the ground I telephoned the watch manager who had been on duty. I asked if I had made any type of mistake that had caused him not to give me the requested clearance. He was very polite, told me that I had not made a mistake, said that he had seen me skirt his zone, obviously remembered my final call, but that he had "handled around 1000 calls" in the two hour watch period and was "too busy" to give a clearance. When I said that I had not wished to enter his zone without clearance and would like to know what to do in future, he said "contact me and squawk as instructed, then cross the zone (with no clearance) and I will let you know if there is anything big about to hit you, in any event don't transit my ATZ".
Having subsequently discussed this scenario with another senior Air Traffic Officer, he said that under the circumstances the only possible instruction to give is "stand by". Clearly the situation is unsatisfactory and needs sorting out, but in the mean time, it appears that in this situation, "stand by" should be interpreted as "continue at your own discretion", perhaps CAP 413 should explain this.
CHIRP Comment: The reporter complied with the recommendation that pilots request clearance to penetrate a MATZ when at least 15nm or five minutes flying time from the boundary.
The ATC instruction “Standby” means “Wait, I will call you”; no clearance should be assumed (CAP413 Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.6, refers).
As the reporter notes, pilots are permitted to penetrate a MATZ without clearance, providing this does not violate the ATZ in the centre of the MATZ (AIP ENR 2.2 Para. 1.3); in such a case it is good airmanship to state clearly to the ATSU controlling the MATZ in a timely manner of your intention to proceed.
The views of CAA and MOD on the adequacy of the present procedure are being sought.