According to Eurocontrol, it should be possible in this case to delay the flight plan to coincide with the slot. Then you can adjust your morning pace.
Sure, but as long as there is hope that the slot will vanish completely (which often happens!) I don’t want to give up my original schedule yet.
What I was thinking. I had it happen that after a 30m delay the new slot caused another 1 hour “penalty”.
I have had many many slots over years and nearly all of them shrink and shrink, sometimes down to some trivial time like 10 mins. But some don’t.
There is a procedure (an AFTN message) which “captures” a slot, so you can re-plan the timing knowing the slot isn’t going to shrink. Normally this is not desirable but sometimes, especially with passengers, it might be.
AFAIK slots issued to lower airspace (below FL200) GA are just computer software artefacts, or implementations of bizzare ATC practices e.g. a sector limit of 30 is reached when there are 30 at FL300-FL400 so yours at FL100 “cannot” be handled.
AFAIK slots issued to lower airspace (below FL200) GA are just computer software artefacts, or implementations of bizzare ATC practices e.g. a sector limit of 30 is reached when there are 30 at FL300-FL400 so yours at FL100 “cannot”
I’d put a lot of smileys after that statement if I were you. Unless you fly a helicopter, aircraft cover a significant distance before they are at cruising level. Those restrictions at lower level are there for a good reason.
The Dover sector is a common source of slots, and you can watch the traffic there on FR24 
Last flight I had an interesting chat with Radar (ATC) in Germany. It was quite early in the morning and practically no one on the frequency. I was pledging for FL170 VFR and he asked me (no exact quotation, but with that meaning) how on earth I thought I could have that flight level in this period of the year. He told me that recently there was issued a notice that controlled VFR flights above FL100 throughout Europe should be rejected due to jammed airspaces, and that I’d quite probably won’t be allowed to climb in the near future.
Additionally, he said that the notice said also that low(er) level IFR should expect more and longer delays as appropriate; which is, well, some form of a slot.
I have no way of how to confirm this, it’s just what I was told. And anyway I got my flight level on that day 
It was a nice chat…
VFR flights above FL100 throughout Europe should be rejected due to jammed airspaces
You are referring to Charlie? not Delta? definitely, they can’t reject in Echo
He meant: you are advised not to fly FL170 VFR either FL175 or FL165
The shortage of staff is everywhere, also in ATC. And the CAT levels are up higher than expected.
And when it comes to VFR GA requesting airspace C above FL100 in Germany, I guess they assume it might be usual habitual IFR flyer who merely wanted to escape a slot (and airway fees) and who is not caring about the flight conditions up there. Hence, to discourage that, they tend to be more restrictive with such clearances.
That make sense in Germany given Charlie is +FL100 but I don’t buy ATC argument that’s across all Europe?
Europe Charlie is +FL195 and I doubt it is going lower to FL100 anytime soon, radar ATC staffing mainly
Seems like it’s going down the route of Perm NOTAM in Paris: no VFR in Delta above FL115, even if “oxygen breathing” turboprops going UK to Sion/Cannes or Germany to Brittany loves VFR there: direct routing and no en-route charges
Ibra wrote:
That make sense in Germany given Charlie is +FL100 but I don’t buy ATC argument that’s across all Europe?
Well he didn’t say the word “Eurocontrol” but definitely said something like it’s a coordinated thing. Of course he was focussed on Germany.
Ibra wrote:
you are advised not to fly FL170 VFR either FL175 or FL165
Whenever I tried I was told by ATC that they’re unable to assign such an odd level
So…I stick to semicircular rule IFR…
