Rat -
But, firstly, is PAN respected outside UK? Anyone had any experiences?
- no. Going over old ground here. It has been known to UK aviators for a long time that PAN is not recognised in many non-UK European countries. Whether a 'fuel emergency' exists in, say, Spain, I know not, so it would be a MAYDAY if required for me. Perhaps a start on getting that standardised with ICAO/JAA would be beneficial, and let's just run with FC's idea of getting a UK system in place?
DidI - I think this has been covered before on PPRune, and I do not believe there is such a thing as a PAN for ATC. I undertsand that the guidelines for local/full are pretty-well laid down in the SATC rules, but someone can advise on that. I'm not certain there is much 'discretion' for a controller.