The problem is the first time you go there you have no warning. It might have been the Girona crews first time there.
Who was flying it? ATC?
While it is beyond question that ultimately the Crew are responsible, and more so that the Captain has ultimate responsibility, we live in an era of higher awareness of CRM and human factors. Good CRM is about good back up and support by all individuals involved in the handling of a flight.
This concept
should extend to ATC too.
In CAG this concept is completely alien. If I was told that ATC were not monitoring the aircraft landing, the most basic function of a Tower controller I would have assumed, I would not be the least bit surprised. If I were in the UK or Germany, I would be quietly confident that the TWR controller would be alert to the possibility of a screw up and would be vigilant. While this does not absolve me of responsibility and I still treat every ATC call with suspicion, one feels like it is a team activity rather then the adversarial role one encounters with Italian ATC. Calling their standards Third World is being generous.