I am glad that we have given this a good airing. I posted it as I had not seen a similar thread before.
It forced me to get out all the books late at night and do some research on the UK position - which does differ from our European neighbours. Of all the documents we refer to in British ATC, MATS Pt1, CAP694, AIP ENR section none of them cover it as succinctly as the CAA Safety Sense leaflet "VFR Flight Planning" which says:
CLOSING THE FLIGHT PLAN
a) If you are landing at your planned destination within the UK, there is no need to ‘close’ the flight plan.
b) If you are landing outside the UK, or at an aerodrome within the UK which was not your planned destination, you must ‘close’ the flight plan to avoid unnecessary Search and Rescue activity. Even if you land at an aerodrome with an ATSU, it is advisable to confirm they have closed your FPL.
c) You may do this by radio (just before landing) or by telephone after landing.
(Safety Sense Leaflet 20, January 2013, Section 8)
So - that is the answer from the CAA themselves. It is clear that many pilots do not understand the system and I would have to admit that nobody at my unit did either. How did we manage in the days before AFPEX, Skydemon, iPad, Facebook and Twitter ?
Thanks to you all - safe flying and safe controlling
