pullup wrote:ATC are not there to regulate the legality of flights. They are there to issue clearances. The legality of the flight is down to the PIC.
That is certainly the case for VFR but I doubt the same thing can be said for controlled IFR?
Maybe depends if you are on own navigation, on vectors, on directs, on official route
How does that work for IFR in LTMA where you are given vectors instructions to follow IMMEDIATELY (I understand it’s not a clearance with no option for PIC to refuse or wait or amend), can you refuse those headings as there are no land clear landing sites ahead? (assuming you are in VMC with ground in-sight) or refuse them in IMC because someone in internet forums thinks SE can’t legally overfly London? (in case the PIC forgets about his priorities and put land clear on imagined engine failure before avoiding real traffic airprox in clouds
)
Nothing UK specific here, France has “big/congested area flying rules” (twins >6kft agl, singles > 4kft agl, again these have no legal basis as they are superseded by SERA unless there is a restricted/prohibited area to legally enforce it), for VFR transits in MEP you may get reminded that twins have to be at 5kft agl to stay legal, while under IFR you get vectored in MEP or cleared on published cruising routes at 3kft right above residential blocks…
What we should call a PIC who go over London ask for transit, do it at 10ft and blame it on ATC