I am shocked by some of what I have read here.
Trying to keep my temper. Here r some thoughts.
Pilots, please try to understand most ATCOs do their utmost to assist u.
We are employed by companies (be they airport authorities or NATS) who are subject to the same laws of commerce as any other business. Staff and facilities must be paid for. Simple economics would dictate priorities, let alone safety but let me come back to that. Understand that 50-80% of the normal daily workload for an average regional airport approach ATC unit could eaily be made up of traffic that produces no revenue for the said airport. Hmmm. Overall I could say that GA doesn't get such a bad deal after all?
Airspace. Every unit I have worked at has not had enough airspace in my view. That includes class A and D, both in the UK and abroad. From a GA viewpoint u may think that the airspace is pretty empty but from an ATCO standpoint I can assure u it is not.
It is excrutiatingly difficult to try to change airspace boundaries and I would offer my humble opinion that SAFETY is not given the weighting that it deserves. Small CTRs and CTAs increase ATCO workload, decreasing efficiency. How efficiently I am able to work has a direct impact on the services I am able to provide. There are some pilots in the GA (and Military!) community who appeal against CAS expansion who may like to consider that their interests may be better served by adopting a different view.
And the UK is not the only place with problems. Let's not adopt too much of a "grass is greener" mentality.
Access. As a keen outdoors person I have some sympathy with the GA community on this issue. Be it freedom to roam on moorland or in the sky it is the same concept of access. Safety is my paramount concern, though, as an ATCO. Please try to understand that see and be seen rules which may work very well between a couple of Cessnas are rather redundant when it comes to airliners travelling between 230-180knots (approx initial and intermediate approach speeds. Pax pay money for their seat on an aeroplane. They deserve certain levels of safety and protection. Your right to play is, rightly, of lesser importance.
As ATCOs we r increasingly thinking with a "at the subsequent court of enquiry..." mentality. Please understand that we do not wish to be doing so. It is a distraction that we must increasingly face, though. A military ATCO recently went through a court martial process lasting some considerable time that involved charges relating to the provision of a RIS. The ATCO involved in the mid air collision on the German-Swiss border is, I understand, still on manslaughter charges from both Swiss and German authorities. There have been court decisions recently in Holland that give grave cause for concern. Personal versus corporate responsibility is an issue for us. Should we make or be viewed to make a mistake, (be they of our own fault or due to human factors, technical failures, lack of infrastructure... the list is endless) it has very serious repercussions. My livelyhood, conscience and freedom are ultimately at risk every time that I am at work. I don't wish to sound melodramatic, only trying to make a point.
ATCOs are professionals. We take a pride in our work. That means trying to provide the best service that we can to everyone that we can all of the time.
If it feels to any of the GA community that ATC aren't being helpful, remember that we can feel that the reverse is true. We could all do ourselves a favour by tyring to understand the fuller picture.
At the end of the day my frustration is with those in the GA (and Military!) world who seem to have a lot of opinion but little true appreciation of modern commercial civil aviation.