The Commissioners who are in charge of Border Force are allowed to make their own rules. They have determined that GARs with advance notice are required for all flights into the UK and those outbound to destinations in the common travel area or outside the EU.
AOPA and several private pilots have worked hard to minimise the impact of this, including developing, at their own expense, on-line facilities. The relatively small charges are designed to try to make the on-line capability sustainable until Border Force can be persuaded to make proper commercial and technical arrangements for such facilities for the long term.
This battle is also being fought by AOPA along with many other battles designed to stop the authorities interfering unreasonably with our lawful activities.
Border Force would prefer that all journeys start and end at airports with full customs, immigration and police capability, because that's easy for them and they don't see themselves as serving the public, more controlling them. If that were to happen then the inconvenience and the landing fees at most such places would make flying abroad prohibitive for many people, so I suggest you look at the value of the AOPA work and stop whinging about the modest cost.
Whether we like it or not the US response to 9/11 and subsequent events has given the authorities excuses to interfere in our lives more than most of us like. We need to battle harder than ever to maintain the freedom of the individual that we have cherished in the UK since 1215. Maybe 2015 should be the year we look for another Simon de Montfort to row back authority
