Stuck this in the other thread but the questions may be relevant here as well
I've been reading this, and associated, threads with interest for some time. It raises some questions that perhaps the professional aviators could answer or comment on.
There seems to be a number of scenarios being discussed: -
Accidental transmissions on the frequency
Deliberate non-emergency transmissions as defined world wide (the chit chat, funny noises etc.)
The legal use of the frequency in UK airspace; which non UK crews may be aware of and disagree with so ignore, or non UK crews may not be aware of in the first place which lead to; -
The interruptions by self appointed "police" to legal and emergency use in UK airspace
In the case of the UK airspace issues
1/ If a professional crew is operating in the UK and knows the legal position and chooses to ignore it - are they operating legally?
2/ If a professional crew is not aware of the law as applies to UK airspace (or airspace in other countries) - are they operating legally in that airspace?
3/ Continuing on from 2 if an airline rosters a crew that is not aware of the law as applies to airspace they are to operate in or assumes they do know, but it, the airline, has not checked this fact - is that flight operating legally?