I’ve done loads of diversions where a GAR form was involved and the police just call the airport where I landed (they watch FR24, and have access to flight plans and presumably ARR messages) and ask to speak to me. Or call me on my mobile.
The people who write this stuff are not particularly educated, so one should not expect top grade English. I have loads of emails trying to extract, by pulling teeth, whether it is (was) ok to do these flights – they had to get input from Head Office on whether it is possible to catch covid when flying at 10,000ft. All very polite…
The main thing is that in the UK you are not going to get beaten up and have your bank account trashed, like can happen in much of mainland Europe – one famous example of completely atrocious ‘make an example of this bastard’ police behaviour. In the UK, the police are more “simple” 
30+ years ago they used to do all kinds of dodgy stuff, but now they are too busy dealing with hate crime on facebook (or so we are told by the Daily Trash)
Diversions are not a problem, but expect to attract attention because diversions are the #1 tool for smuggling (you land somewhere before the police can get there).
I don’t think Brexit made much difference. You needed a GAR before, you need a GAR now.
The list of GAR-able airports may have changed, but it’s actually pretty easy to get onto the list if the owner/operator wants to. If they don’t, take it up with them. Enstone (my nearest base) has made it onto the list despite having 3 separate operations who all hate each other, no discernible reception/HQ, no staffing or opening hours and almost no facilities.
The missing airfields, I think incompetence is a more likely reason for their exclusion. The provision of border services is a taxpayer-funded government function, and the notion that individuals or business should be able to avail of it at their private facilities but keep the provision of such services a secret seems wrong to me. If Border Force operate at a facility, it ought to be a matter of public record. But then not much surprises me these days….
boscomantico wrote:
Southern Ireland?
I wouldn’t expect many people with the typical education levels of an airfield manager or Border Force to have much awareness of the sensitivity around terms used to describe the state of Ireland.
When discussed in a UK or cross-border context, Brits often feel the need to qualify the name Ireland to distinguish it from Northern Ireland, which I presume they are concerned that people may think they are referring to. That qualification often takes the form of Southern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, or Eire. Some folks may (or may not) find this irritating or even offensive.
I don’t find such qualification necessary – to me they are just Ireland and Northern Ireland and the one I say is the one I mean. If I mean to refer to both together, I refer to the island of Ireland.
If they don’t, take it up with them.
Agreed!
Southern Ireland?
You can go crazy trying to address political sensitivities… everybody knows what this means. It’s like when I was 12 I said to a Scot “but you are English aren’t you”. He laughed but I was told afterwards he would have possibly hit me had I been much older Fortunately I will never run for public office, otherwise we would have one of these 
Graham wrote:
The list of GAR-able airports may have changed
A bit o a euphemism, no? Previously, EVERY single airfield in the UK was “approved” for international flights to or from other EU countries. Now, this number is down to less than 200 (many of which are the very private ones, helipads, etc., while several of the “open” and "valuable ones, like on many Scottish Isles, have gone lost for international flights).
Anyway, it’s the way it is now. It was foreseeable (of course it has to do with Brexit). Maybe the list will still grow a bit over time.
Not quite. I know various counter examples. It gets “fixed” by the owner doing an agreement with the local police. They are quite amenable, once they know who they are dealing with. Of course the agreement may not be advertised.
Like has been said, contact the airfield of interest and ask them. Chances are they don’t know because they have not had foreign traffic for years.
boscomantico wrote:
A bit o a euphemism, no? Previously, EVERY single airfield in the UK was “approved” for international flights to or from other EU countries.
Maybe my memory fails me. I thought under the old arrangements you needed a CofA airfield for any international flight? Perhaps I’m wrong, and perhaps that was just for Channel Islands flights (the CI are not and never were EU) which I used to do a fair bit.
Frankly I think this is the least of the Brexit problems.
I think you are right – see the COA link I posted above. It wasn’t every farm strip by default. But every farm strip could have it if the owner applied for it. In Sussex alone, the police told me there are 82 such strips (a few years ago).
Peter wrote:
But every farm strip could have it if the owner applied for it
And that’s how it is now. Everyone was told what was going to happen (for 2yrs a blanket CofA covered everywhere) and they had those 2yrs to apply. I never actually got involved in an application (though I researched it as I felt I might look to drive one for Enstone if no-one else did).
I heard of various impractical obstacles being placed in the way, such as requirements for dedicated Border Force parking, an indoor workspace / waiting room, availability of toilets, published opening hours and a manned reception desk, telephone line, etc. The most obstructive seemed to be the notion that the operator would have to keep records of all international flights and essentially take responsibility for them. Maybe this was all baloney or just a nice-to-have, since Enstone seems to have got a CofA.
Peter wrote:
For sure – you are in the top few % of education achievement, and (as I know from much business with Sweden and that area) these people speak good English – actually in most of Europe, even if in some countries they don’t want to.
I would think that in Scandinavia and some other countries (e.g. the Netherlands) you can expect people to speak English even if they’re not academics. (Of varying quality, certainly.) I’ve heard enough shop assistants speak perfectly ok English with foreign visitors…
One factor I believe is important is that in Scandinavia movies are never dubbed – always subtitled (except for children’s movies).
