is there a way to contact an airport tower / approach etc. in order to get landing clearance and instructions other than through the toolbar menu - “ATC - Nearest Airport List” if one would have the frequencies and dialed them in the plane’s radio ?Sometimes the desired airport shows up on the list too late to acquire the proper approach and this causes all sorts of issues. I believe I managed to dial into an airport’s ATIS directly through the radio but could not do it with approach or tower although I had the right frequencies from the charts.
That sure would be nice, wouldn’t it? And even if you get ATC clearance, sometimes they don’t clear you for the approach and runway you have set up to fly. More annoyingly to me, if you DON’T get that clearance and just land without using the game’s ATC, very often in my experience, Ground doesn’t have the option to request taxing instructions to the gate. If you go to a gate anyway, once you get there, you can’t request a jetway connection. Oddly, I can request and receive ground power, baggage, fuel and even catering, but for whatever reason I “we can’t connect the jetway” even if I’m parked exactly on the designated spot well within reach of the jetway I can see right there. If I do manage to request a landing, then there’s no issue.
Would be nice if the entire system was revised to allow direct comms to the airport without going through the toolbar menu, and if once landed, the game simply let you request every available type of service and Ground instruction you might want.
Except that the game’s ATC is so ■■■■■ that sometimes if you do contact the airport to request landing instructions, they might well offer you runways that are NOT in line with the ATIS. Happened to me last week - following ATC’s instructions, I ended up landing with a 12 knot quartering tailwind. That was fun.
But with regard to the more general issues of contacting the arriving airport, the “Nearest Airports” list should really be smarter. There are DOZENS of little local municipal airports and even farms/airstrips around the world between any two major airports. Trying to scroll through the list - which updates itself as you’re trying to click the interface! - is a real PITA. Like, am I actually going to land a 747 at a tiny 2,000’ grass-strip farm? That list should either auto-filter based on the size/weight of the aircraft you’re flying, or give you the option to filter out places like that from the list.
Thank you all for your replies, I was afraid there is mo straightforward solution, using the airports list is the only way. Maybe its worth submitting to the wishlist for the ability to tune into airports when they are close without need to be browsing the list in the ATC menu of the UI.