Petition to Allow Listening to ATC in the UK

[Lord Spandex Masher]

It's not as if personally indentifying information is broadcast.

The next time I transmit the full name and DOB of one of my passengers and details about their physical condition (the last one would have been rather embarrassing) you promise to put your fingers in your ears?

[10W]

The next time I transmit the full name and DOB of one of my passengers and details about their physical condition (the last one would have been rather embarrassing) you promise to put your fingers in your ears?

Not quite sure why you would need to transmit such information ? I've never heard it done in 30+ years of ATC.

Personally, I'd not be too upset if the law was amended to reflect what happens most of the time, namely to allow people to legally listen in to transmissions.

That said, I would beef up the law to give absolutely clarity on the illegailty of rebroadcasting transmissions (e.g. on the Internet), recording and/or distributing transmissions, publishing transcripts, and publishing information which has been gained from transmissions. In other words, you would be free to listen, but not push out the data elsewhere.

Harsh penalties and an immediate high profile prosecution of law breakers when the law was amended would be my favoured policy 'pour encourager les autres'.

[Lord Spandex Masher]

10W, medical emergency. Information, which include stuff like bodily fluids and the failure to retain(!), requested by ATC to forward to paramedics and our company.

A couple of minutes on the web with a full name and DOB and a weirdo wouldn't have a hard time finding out more about a person.

Not saying all () spotters are weirdos but you never know who's listening!

[10W]

I've asked for, and received, information regularly for medical emergencies. I would never ask for the D.O.B or name, nor have any of the emergency services ever asked me for it.

All the medics need to start is the sex and age, plus condition. Full passenger details can be gained on landing or from the company.

[Hotel Tango]

Legal or not, thousands of spotters and just simply those interested in aviation, listen in to ATC transmissions. They have been doing so for more than 60 years. As mentioned, which seems to be conveniently ignored by HD and TT, is that in countries like the USA they have spectator areas with loud speaker broadcast of ATC transmissions. No one is watching you reading the Beano on the FD or listening to your personal conversations TT, so your argument aimed at 2dPilot is flawed. As an aviation professional myself, I say yes it is most definitely about time the law in the UK is reviewed.

[airsmiles]

Code:

So what part of my business are Spotters in?

Lord Spandex Masher - your profile doesn't say what business you're in, so I can't answer that and neither should I.

My point was plenty of people have to answer questions about their daily work life but some previous pilot/ATC posters seem nervous of enthusiasts just listening in, let alone questioning them. I don't really understand why that should be but I'm prepared to be educated on that perspective.

[Lord Spandex Masher]

Airsmiles, we're talking about spotters listening to live air traffic broadcasts, so that's the business I'm in.

You said that you have to defend your decisions and actions everyday to anyone in your business who cares to comment, fair enough. Spotters however, are not in my business so, therefore, why should they be privy to my conversations/transmissions, good, bad and ugly? Notwithstanding the fact it is illegal. Would you be happy about someone listening to your business meetings illegally? Maybe misconstruing what they heard because they don't have a full understanding of what they're hearing and possibly misrepresenting you in public?

I'm not nervous about it, it's a fact it happens and probably was before I started flying.

[Hotel Tango]

Spotters however, are not in my business

Careful with that statement. Certainly not the majority, but you would be surprised how many are. I personally know quite a number of ATCOs, ATCAs and two commercial airline pilots who are spotters.

[Groundloop]

This country is in such a bad state at the moment that the Government has enough serious things to worry about. They are not going to waste any parliamentary time on something as unimportant as this.

[Lord Spandex Masher]

HT, I know, they're not the spotters I'm referring to.

[Pistonprop]

HT, I know, they're not the spotters I'm referring to

Fell off my stool laughing. Only in Britain can you seemingly have a class distinction between spotters

[Phileas Fogg]

Do some actually wear anoraks?

[flydive1]

Originally Posted by Lord Spandex Masher

The next time I transmit the full name and DOB of one of my passengers and details about their physical condition (the last one would have been rather embarrassing) you promise to put your fingers in your ears?

Originally Posted by Lord Spandex Masher

10W, medical emergency. Information, which include stuff like bodily fluids and the failure to retain(!), requested by ATC to forward to paramedics and our company.

A couple of minutes on the web with a full name and DOB and a weirdo wouldn't have a hard time finding out more about a person.

Not saying all () spotters are weirdos but you never know who's listening!

Would you ask all other pilots on frequency to put their fingers in their ears too? Not saying all pilots are weirdos, but you never know.

Personally I would use the sat phone to reports such sensitive informations if I have to.

[AGPwallah]

Well guys you've missed your chance now to sign the petition. It closed at 09:14 today with a whole 93 signatures.

AGP

[Torque Tonight]

Only 99,907 short of the required amount. Never mind. Still waiting for any of the supporters to offer me access to their work comms.

[Lord Spandex Masher]

Originally Posted by flydive1

Would you ask all other pilots on frequency to put their fingers in their ears too? Not saying all pilots are weirdos, but you never know.

Personally I would use the sat phone to reports such sensitive informations if I have to.

Most pilots I know are weird. I take your point but I'd rather trust sensitive information to the pros who are background checked, psycho analysed and are actually there for the benefit of the punters than a bunch of couldbeanythingoranybodies who have no responsibility for the information which they might make public and may or may not understand the implications of doing so.

Don't have a sat phone, didn't even have HF on that airframe so the only way to pass on the info that was asked for was on VHF.

[A30yoyo]

Just out of interest does anyone know if the UK Authorities ever tried to stop the importation of Airband VHF sets (and later on, Scanners) when they first became available?... don't think they were available when I stopped spotting in 1961 but I was able to buy one from a shop on the A4 opposite Heathrow Northside in 1969 when I was convalescing from a road crash.
I think the UK position is reasonable and there's no chance the law will be loosened

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

I see that the petition is closed already! The application was badly written IMHO. What exactly is "ATC radio traffic act"?

[gorter]

Originally Posted by flydive1

Would you ask all other pilots on frequency to put their fingers in their ears too? Not saying all pilots are weirdos, but you never know.

Personally I would use the sat phone to reports such sensitive informations if I have to.

Pilots don't have a choice but to listen to these transmissions and like ATCOs are licensed and required to do so as part of our profession. Also you'll find very few a/c non legacy airliners have satcom so no choice.

I don't have a problem with genuine spotters listening to my comms. What does make my blood boil is when you get the ghoulish delight of some on here posting 7700 squawks immediately as it is happening and inviting you to maybe "fingers crossed" listen in to a real crash as it happens!!

Sorry but that is no better than rubberneckers at car crash sites and needs stamping out.

[Capot]

Well, now that's over, why is everyone so bothered about whether or not it's illegal to listen to ATC comms? To the best of my knowledge** no-one has ever been prosecuted for doing that, and I'll bet good money that no-one will be in the future. Thousands (tens of thousands?) do it daily, many in situations where it seems very legal but isn't, technically. EG line maintenance offices, club operations offices etc.

**I know, some-one will know of a case, somewhere, that proves me wrong!