We already have a system that will fix this issue, CPDLC. Sadly not many ATC Centres have integrated it, not many airlines have trained up their crews to use it, and not many of the ATC Centres that have got it have given the option to either "free text" or have a "contact ***.***" option.

It has been proved that European airspace is to congested and the amount of tactical ATC instructions is such CPDLC will never work on a large scale. OK for oceanic clearance and the odd Scandinavian CRZ portion of the flight!!

I never said use CPDLC on a large scale, but there are certainly some uses that are beneficial in European airspace, congested or not. I just suggested that it could have been used to contact aircraft that have gone AWOL too, and that could be an oversight.

To much trouble, you would still have to log on to each FIR unit. A better way is ACARS, but again it's hastle and has a lag people will just reach for 121.5 instead as its faster. Maybe mandating ACARS for all ground handling calls would be good to stop the number of acidental 121.5 calls and inevatible backlash from everyone on the frequency or a more robust way of delivering frequency changes. For example contact London control on Bravo Foxtrot and then you decode your self. One of the main problems especially over Spain are ATC loop errors, they give you a frequency, you read it back incorrectly but they don't pick that up and then the cycle of lost coms starts! Happens every 10 seconds in Spain...

You don't want to monitor 121.5 because it's congested with, among other things, ATC trying to reach pilots who aren't answering.


Palm, meet face.

The only time I'm using 121.5 is when I'm trying to find a pilot. It would be nice if it was monitored.