anotherthing:
You hit the nail right on the head. Most of what you read here are generalizations. Since everyone is generalizing about Spanish ATC, why can’t I generalize about UK ATC? I have flown in both airspaces, and in my personal opinion both are very very safe, thus why I made the comment about South America and Asia.
In my case, I have had more issues flying in the UK then I have had in Spain. Its not every day you see an airplane almost touch down on top of another one. And let me tell you, Southend might be smaller than Heathrow, but there is a constant inflow and outflow of big jets. There is ABSOLUTELY no excuse for clearing an airplane to land while an airplane is on the runway, even at a small airport, but then again, we are all human.