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More bad publicity for UK GA in the press today
All the UK tabloids carrying this story today suggesting UK private pilots tempted by big cash.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/...lity=100&w=750 Former UK Border Force boss Tony Smith quoted.... ‘Some migrants are prepared to pay more to guarantee getting to the UK. It costs a lot of money to run a small aircraft.’ Smuggling gangs charging up to £900 a seat to fly illegal immigrants into the UK as two British pilots are arrested ‘for flying in 14 Albanians’ * Feared hundreds of migrants are planning to use planes to enter the country * British pilots arrested after allegedly trying to fly in 14 Albanians from Holland * Their aircraft is one of at least three that has been stopped by officials Approximately 30 airstrips in the South East are thought to be particularly vulnerable to smugglers, because they have no protection from over-stretched border officials. Read more: Gangs charging £900 to fly illegal immigrants into the UK | Daily Mail Online Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook Smugglers flying migrants into UK 'and charging £900 for GUARANTEED entry' | UK | News | Express.co.uk |
and Jay the "wingly" situation adds yet another dimension
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For those who don't know Wingly is explained here Wingly: Testing the Airbnb of aviation | The Independent
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Seething seems to have moved to Bentwaters from the look of that graphic...
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Originally Posted by Heston
(Post 9847582)
Seething seems to have moved to Bentwaters from the look of that graphic...
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The Sun carried an editorial on the topic as well.
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I'm going to be one unhappy camper if thru the actions of those greedy traitorous mofo's that instead of doing my usual Rennes or Jersey straight back to the farm on a GAR with a short mobile phone chat with my local border cop, I'm forced to check in with border officials at a major airport with all the associated landing and handling fees not to mention the added time and inconvenience. I'll be friggin raging.
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Piperboy - bit like the farce of having to check in with Special Branch to nip across to IOM. Same added expense and hassle.
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Originally Posted by piperboy84
(Post 9848089)
I'm going to be one unhappy camper if thru the actions of those greedy traitorous mofo's that instead of doing my usual Rennes or Jersey straight back to the farm on a GAR with a short mobile phone chat with my local border cop, I'm forced to check in with border officials at a major airport with all the associated landing and handling fees not to mention the added time and inconvenience. I'll be friggin raging.
The Breighton drug smuggler even had the cheek to use 55EU :ok: http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/arti...e-in-plane.jpg |
Sounds like the usual Mail/Sun thing, find an isolated extreme occurrence and report it as the norm, depending on what the Government or Rupert Murdoch wants to cut that week....
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I am sorry to say this is not an isolated incident Andy. Not every UK pilot is flying just for the fun of it or the £100 cup of tea. There is a great temptation for some to fund flying from the black market.
Here is an ITV report from Feb 2017. 'Respectable' pilot who smuggled cocaine worth millions is jailed A pilot caught with his trousers down smuggling cocaine worth more than £2.4 million into the UK has been jailed for 23 years. Dutch national John Buwalda hid behind a respectable business front to bring bags containing 48lb (22kg) of high purity cocaine in a light aircraft from the Netherlands to Kent's Rochester Airport in June last year. Recorder Oliver Sells QC said theirs was a "professional, commercial, international smuggling enterprise" which was "executed with great precision". Buwalda was caught on CCTV landing his light aircraft at Rochester then going to and from the plane with a suitcase, before checking into a nearby hotel. Officers then watched as Polish national Polak got two sports bags from his van and went up to divorced father-of two Buwalda's hotel room for the handover. As he walked away carrying two full sports bags, Polak was arrested by officers from the joint National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police Service Organised Crime Partnership (OCP). Hotel staff told officers Buwalda had arrived earlier that day with two suitcases but checked in for the day only, as he had done several times before. NCA officer Jim McMorrow told the trial how he arrested Buwalda while he was sitting on the toilet. The Old Bailey was told the drugs, which were found to ha At the end of May this year the Liverpool Echo ran this report. Men who plotted with Merseyside pilot to smuggle drugs over the channel in a hire plane jailed - Liverpool Echo Two men who conspired with a Merseyside pilot to fly cocaine and heroin across the channel in a rented light aircraft were jailed. Wayne Coates, 49 and Jamie Sharples, 30, had been due to collect a delivery of class A drugs from Southport pilot Philip Molyneux. Coates travelled to meet him at an airfield near Clacton, Essex on the morning of 31 October 2012. However, Molyneux, never made the rendezvous. He had been picked up by French customs and police in Abbeville airfield prior to take-off. French officers found 12kg of cocaine and a kilo of heroin in a bag in his plane. The French had been tipped off after British authorities noted suspicious activity involving the aircraft, which was rented from a firm in Blackpool. If cut and sold in the UK the haul would have had a potential street value of over £1.5m. Following his arrest the French authorities found calls and messages on Molyneux’s phone from numbers which were later linked by the National Crime Agency to Coates and Sharples. One, from Coates, said “Ring me Phil, what the f*** going on?” Another from Sharples stated “Get bk to me asap”. |
Originally Posted by Shaggy Sheep Driver
(Post 9848098)
Piperboy - bit like the farce of having to check in with Special Branch to nip across to IOM. Same added expense and hassle.
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We did allow to let paper rule over humanity and we are on the move to even further pass it on to a digital automation world we don't understand. We are the last to complain over bull**** brainless zombies sitting in the offices of certain news tablets or even official authorities - WE let them grow.
Stop whining, do something against. |
Originally Posted by ChickenHouse
(Post 9848224)
Stop whining, do something against.
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I think the answer is get used to the idea that a quick trip to Europe may soon get a lot slower and expensive.
No 10 says free movement ends when UK leaves EU - BBC News |
Originally Posted by BossEyed
(Post 9848231)
What specific and effective "something" should we all be doing?
Second step: political campaign finance reform, where political donations can not be sent directly to the party or candidate but to a 3rd party ombudsman who logs receipt then publishes online the donors name, address , amount given, recipient and running totals of any prior donations, prior to forwarding the funds to the intended recipient. Step Three: lobbyist registration and public meetings, any trade , industry or idealogical lobbyist/interest group requesting a meeting with an elected individual or government department head must make the meeting request publicly and submit a proposed agenda and all lobbyists meeting must be minuted and published online with 48 hours. That'll do for a start 👍 |
Originally Posted by BossEyed
(Post 9848231)
What specific and effective "something" should we all be doing?
https://sussex.police.uk/advice/prot...oject-pegasus/ |
Project Pegasus is an initiative I'd hope we all (Less Jetblu...) support, but has nothing to do with ChickenHouse's post.
Reform of media ownership and political change are not something any individual can "do". So, again, what specific "something" does ChickenHouse want I individuals to do? Culminating on an internet forum is all very well, and whiles away an hour or two, but if you are railing against people not doing what you think they should, then tell them the details of what it is you think they should be doing. Assuming you know the answer. It is easy to complain. Less easy to solve. |
Well if you go down that road Piperboy what about N reg aircraft in the UK and Europe often registered to obscure Delaware organisations? The reason criminals like N reg aircraft is the lack of supervision in Europe by the FAA.
I can't register my UK car with an American plate so how come non US citizens can register an aircraft that is based in Great Britain or Europe with the FAA? |
I have long struggled to understand why the CAA and now EASA allow non US citizens to fly US registered aircraft here for years. I suspect it is done by some owners to save money and cut corners on maintenance and oversight.
Indeed I can think of at least two cases where that was privately admitted. Sadly I suspect we will all find private air travel falling under more suspicion. |
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