AOPA has released a statement in response to Jersey ATC’s PPR request and GA restrictions. The release reads as follows:

AOPA has released a statement in response to Jersey ATC’s PPR request and GA restrictions. The release reads as follows:

“Despite extensive and expensive pre-operational training, the Jersey ATC system has been deemed unable to cope with summer traffic. Therefore, GA traffic has been restricted, and VFR aircraft require pre-booked PPR to enter the CICZ. This is despite the fact that ATC already automatically get all the required information from Flight Plans which are mandatory for all aircraft. “Although the AOPA CI (Channel Islands) has repeatedly requested to be told the maximum number of movements the system was designed to handle and what their present limit is, this information has not been disclosed. Since the daily number of movements into the CICZ is less now than at any time in its history, it is clear that the system is unfit for its intended purpose. “Sooner or later there will have to be an independent enquiry and scrutiny of how the millions spent on the new ATCC failed to provide a system fit for present and future traffic into the CICZ and the three CI airports. “The considerable knock-on effect on the local economies of the three Channel Islands of the proposed GA traffic restrictions are being totally ignored by the NATS contractor and apparently accepted by the Airport Authority. “GA visitors are responsible for bringing substantial revenue to the economies of the three islands through tourism and business. The proposed restrictions have already received considerable adverse and damaging international publicity. “Particularly onerous is the effect on locally-based GA aircraft, requiring them to go through the procedure of getting prior permission before they can return home. “The Jersey Airport Announcement clearly confirms that ‘Jersey Airport (ATC) can handle up to 700 aircraft movements daily during the busy summer months’. From analysing the three peak months over the last two years, nowhere near that number of movements took place.“Unfortunately, negotiations between AOPA CI Region and the relevant authorities have not yet led to an acceptable outcome.”