Zakynthos - piloting procedures
 

Morning all

Spent last week in a very hot and sunny Zakynthos. As I was staying in Laganas bay I was able to note many arrivals and departures from the local airport (probably the worst in Europe but that is a whole different thread!!).

I found it unusual that there did not seem to be any standard procedure for arrivals and departures.

English carriers landing from the east (i.e sea) invariably flew down the western coast, out to sea, wide descending curve around (sorry forgotten technical term for that movement) and then into the airport on a long straight final. The Swiss invariably did the same but turned on tight for short straight final. Everyone else seemed to follow the centreline of the runway out to sea then came back a short while (up to 15 minutes!) later.

When landing from the north many aircraft flew the centreline of the runway out to sea then came back a short while later at a slightly lower altitude before going back to the north to turn on for a long final. This one in particular seemed very 'fuel expensive' for no obvious benefit.

The question therefore is 'Who sets the standards or rules for approaches/departures? I was under the impression that such things were dictated by ATC but it would seem that this is not (or not always) the case. Am I right in assuming that the final decision always rests with the pilot on ATC advice?'

If this has been covered before then apologies.

Many thanks in advance

Bernie

PS - and thanks to the First Choice crew (flightdeck and cabin) from NEMA for the excellent flights both out and back.

You didn't bump into any bar maids from leeds while in laganas did you???

I was there this time last year and noticed the same, great place though, beach/planes, bar, drink, ladies, more drink, more ladies, more drink, no ladies, gyros pitta, lonely walk home with friends, more beach, more planes....... Excellent..

OTB

Unfortunately my wife made sure that I did not bump into any young ladies from anywhere:ugh:

Bernie

Most commercial flights are likely to be following the published instrument approach procedure for that destination. These are set by the authorities responsible for regulation of aviation in that country. No doubt it is possible to link to the approach plates for the airport in question.

Depending on the standard of equipment on each aircraft and the navigation aids used to assist with the approach (ie, a precision versus non-precision approach), the path over the ground taken by each aircraft can be quite different. Given that instrument approaches follow bearings and distances based on transmissions from radio beacons, even 'accurate' approaches can appear to follow quite markedly different courses over the ground to a ground-based observer.

Also, some operators may request and be granted permission for a visual approach by the local ATC unit. In this case, the path followed may be very different to an instrument approach, and each visual approach may be different to the previous one due to ATC instructions for aircraft separation.

i dont believe they even have an ILS there,so you would be looking at visual approaches,probably with vectors,hence the pattern.

Rudas

No way will you be vectored! They have no radar, so arrivals are either procedural or visual, both depending on factors such as weather, day/night, other traffic and crew decision as to whether they are in a safe position to carry out a visual. Oh, and I operate there frequently on A320's so have an idea on what I say here (maybe only a little though!) Enjoy the sun, and forget about planes!