I flew from BUD to MAN recently, on a plane with one of those useful TV 
screen maps that show you very roughly how far you've gone and what 
towns you might be flying over. I reckon we passed through the air space 
of at least 6 different nations on the way. (I'm assuming Luxembourg 
doesn't get too bothered about its air space - presumably it lets one of 
its neighbours sort things out for it.)

This set me off wondering about the arrangements for air traffic control 
where planes simply pass through without stopping. The Swiss and the 
Austrians must get really fed up with handling everybody else's non-stop 
flights. Do they raise charges for "transit" flights? Or is it all a 
free service?

I've always assumed that ATC at origin and destination is paid for 
through landing charges at the destination airports but perhaps I've got 
that wrong too. Any information herzlich willkommen.
-- 
Joyce Whitchurch, Stalybridge, UK
=================================
Old enough to remember when MAN
was still Ringway and had Alcock
and Brown's biplane hanging up in
the departure hall

"Joyce Whitchurch"  wrote in message 
news:NuOdnYAMwo-JWXTbnZ2dnUVZ8tKsnZ2d@bt.com...
>I flew from BUD to MAN recently, on a plane with one of those useful TV 
>screen maps that show you very roughly how far you've gone and what towns 
>you might be flying over. I reckon we passed through the air space of at 
>least 6 different nations on the way. (I'm assuming Luxembourg doesn't get 
>too bothered about its air space - presumably it lets one of its neighbours 
>sort things out for it.)
>
> This set me off wondering about the arrangements for air traffic control 
> where planes simply pass through without stopping. The Swiss and the 
> Austrians must get really fed up with handling everybody else's non-stop 
> flights. Do they raise charges for "transit" flights? Or is it all a free 
> service?
>
> I've always assumed that ATC at origin and destination is paid for through 
> landing charges at the destination airports but perhaps I've got that 
> wrong too. Any information herzlich willkommen.
> -- 
> Joyce Whitchurch, Stalybridge, UK
> =================================
> Old enough to remember when MAN
> was still Ringway and had Alcock
> and Brown's biplane hanging up in
> the departure hall

Simplisticly?   You do!   You pay the airline and the airline pays the air 
traffic control provider.   In the UK that is NATS.   They levy "en route 
charges" to aircraft passing through UK airspace and you'd be amazed how 
many of those there are!   Think about all the transatlantic flights.

The "upper airspace" in large parts of northern mainland Europe are 
controlled through the Eurocontrol centre at Maastricht but more local 
services (the dividing line is somewhere between 20k and 30K feet) are 
provided by each country.

"Joyce Whitchurch"  wrote in message 
news:NuOdnYAMwo-JWXTbnZ2dnUVZ8tKsnZ2d@bt.com...
>I flew from BUD to MAN recently, on a plane with one of those useful TV 
>screen maps that show you very roughly how far you've gone and what towns 
>you might be flying over. I reckon we passed through the air space of at 
>least 6 different nations on the way. (I'm assuming Luxembourg doesn't get 
>too bothered about its air space - presumably it lets one of its neighbours 
>sort things out for it.)
>
> This set me off wondering about the arrangements for air traffic control 
> where planes simply pass through without stopping. The Swiss and the 
> Austrians must get really fed up with handling everybody else's non-stop 
> flights. Do they raise charges for "transit" flights? Or is it all a free 
> service?
>
> I've always assumed that ATC at origin and destination is paid for through 
> landing charges at the destination airports but perhaps I've got that 
> wrong too. Any information herzlich willkommen.
> -- 
> Joyce Whitchurch, Stalybridge, UK
> =================================
> Old enough to remember when MAN
> was still Ringway and had Alcock
> and Brown's biplane hanging up in
> the departure hall

By the way, you'll get a much more authoritative answer if you have a look 
at PPrune.