As I see it, Jason could have just filed “I” from Germany to say Le Touquet, then cancelled IFR and asked for a diversion to a (any) UK airport. Then he would end up hacking back home in Class G, 2400ft below the LTMA, like the rest of us
I thought of that. It was plan B if they didn’t take me. FL200 was much nicer than hacking around down low though! 
Thanks Jason, that makes sense, given that the destination had issues with IFR clearances.
I guess if the reverse had been the case, i.e. you were trying to leave the UK at the time the NATS system was restricted, you could have filed Z, departed VFR, then continued IFR once you were outside UK FIR, and thus avoided the slot issue that way?
PS. I was amazed to see how cool your engine runs at that torque setting, a reflection of the base OAT no doubt. The disadvantage of living in a tropical climate is that I invariably temp out before I torque out.
Thanks also Peter. I was more curious regarding Jason’s specific situation. I think using Y and Z is a good technique to get round exceptional delays.
I had a similar experiance trying to launch from Dubrovnic during a Greek ATC strike, with the resultant two hour slots. It never occurred to me to bypass that system using partial VFR. :-)
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