OOOooops......sorry to steal the thread..!
Slink and 30W....thanks for your replies, much appreciated.
The fam flight list was pretty much all Europe as we had to get back the same day to avoid NATS forking out for a hotel (Cyprus and Rekyavik were the only two where you HAD (!!!) to nightstop).
NATS official line is that it has stopped. The Fam Flight Office at our College of ATC in Bournemouth no longer accepts bids.
Going througha more unorthadox approach is cumbersome but an avenue I and others would surely follow.
Maybe its a money thing for NATS (paying our parking costs at LHR/LGW etc) but the majority of NATS ATCO's either work at an airfield or if not could park for free there if arranged with a local unit.
OH well, another demise in the cockpit/ATC liasion - such as the Assisted flying scheme which has been unilaterally closed.
B-L
(30W I would travel for a fam flight on my days off if one was free)