Belk,
No-one is trying to annoy anyone. All we are stating is that there are certain elements of ATC in Spain which leave a lot to be desired. In your role as a Trainee (?) ATCO you are in a unique position to raise awareness of this thread to your tutors/instructors. The "don't perpetuate this thread" line isn't going to work.
I too have experienced 45 knot tailwinds off the arc from VILNA into ALC and it's not a comfortable position to be in. Personally I'm be back at 160 knots at that point with that sort of wind - if one of the locals isn't (and will probably have a ground speed nudging 280+ hitting the glide) then that's entirely his problem. "Calm" is now known as "Spanish Calm" to my trainees -i.e. expect a tailwind. So we are being told one thing when the reality is something different - that's not on and probably illegal on the part of the controller. What would happen following (god forbid) an accident if it was proved that the "calm" was in fact a 15 tail.
BCN, PMI, MAD, ALC are the most "difficult" - not always but usually. At AGP they sometimes are unable to give descent but WILL NOT take the initiative and vector you. How many times have I seen a profile deviation of +6000' heading towards MAR - and they just don't seem to realise that you cannot get the height off........
I've been vectored onto 24L at PMI (landing runway on ATIS and ILS still radiating) even though it was covered in vehicles doing runway work...... fortuately it was a clear night and I was able to spot/query what was going on. 30 mins after we landed the ATIS was STILL giving 24L as landing runway.
MOR duly filed. What if the cloud base had been 200' ? A very late GA and some pretty scared workmen (let alone pilots!) I've been cleared to lineup and take-off 24R at PMI with traffic on final.....
I've been cleared to land on 25L at BCN when runway in use was 07L. On the same night I was cleared take-off 07L even though I was on 07R. Can't remember if it's a common tower freq for both R/W's but if anyone was short final for 07L.....
The problem is it's got to the point where we just accept it "because it's Spain". But why
don't Spanish controllers understand that you cannot fly 200 knots to 3.5D? Why do they
not realise that having a 50 knot tailwind at 4000 feet on the approach might cause us a bit of difficulty.
Why are trainee Spanish ATCO's not aware of this - BELK?
I've also witnessed loads of "interesting" (unquestionably unstable) approaches - why do they do it? Culture? Loss of face? Lack of training? Lack of awareness? Lack of monitoring (OFDM/FLIDRAS)? I'm not racist or xenophobic but I cannot understand why things don't improve and are allowed to continue in this way.
WE ALL WORK AND OPERATE IN THE SAME AIRSPACE AND ARE THEREFORE ENTITLED TO A MINIMUM LEVEL OF PROFESSIOANLISM FROM ALL PILOTS AND ATCO's. Why should MY workload be significantly increased because I'm trying to figure out what's going on around me. Trying to build a mental model at someof these places is nigh on impossible (especially when ATC talk in Spanish - but that's another discussion completely). We file ASR's/MOR's but I have only seen the status quo maintained for years. Agreed, traffic levels have significantly increased - but that's the argument for a SIGNIFICANT improvement in the quality of ATC - if it's creaking under pressure well it's just a matter of time. An accident waiting to happen is a phrase that springs to mind.
Sorry it's a bit long winded.
A4