TOO MUCH INFO!!!
Hi Uplinker, I TOTALLY support and endorse your query.
There is now a plethora of info bytes which we drivers have to sift through and filter to get to what is really needed.
There appear to be no visual approaches available at Gatport Airwick, unless it's 0400 local and the main rwy is closed for lens polishing or rabbit shooting or whatever.
Then we're doing what we were never trained for-straight in approaches, at night, post 5-8 hours back from somewhere hot 'n smelly and thanks to the modern kit and a bit of anticipation, we can con our Boings or 'Buses into doing the difficult bit.
The "expect an ILS approach" sentence is as superfluous as telling us they'd like us to vacate at "FR" in order to improve the runway's productivity thereby keeping the beancounters happy, but for some odd reason that's not included.
25 years of using that airport and I don't recall any serious reported incidents or accidents due to aircrew getting caught with their craft NOT set up for the ILS.
It's just representative of the creeping malaise in this industry where any deskjockey with a word processor can inflict cheaply and rapidly some half-brained procedure on the great unwashed without a clue as to the eventual effect on aircraft ops. Witness CDG with what may be the world record in the number of different approaches and departures, off effectively 2 east-west facing runways???!!!
As long as the IATAs or ICAOs of this world permit that sort of megalomania to persist, then we'll have to carry on shouting NO!!! at the tops of our voices.
Come on ATC senior management, take this one on the chin, admit you've got it wrong and try to employ fact, logic and reasoning when it comes to ATIS content and delivery???