Sir - Having read the Comment "Back to basics" (Flight International, 24-30 September), I would suggest that someone in authority organises replacing the single VHF 126.9MHz band for exchanging operational information.
This would be a quick and simple solution to an urgent problem. It could be years before states see the need to change their systems. Pilots and passengers, meanwhile, are the "cannon fodder".
An aircraft crew is essentially interested only in the traffic at the same flight level. If frequency shortages are a problem, we could use 130.8MHz from the National Air Traffic Services for all the Charlie Romeo Alfa Papa talked over it.
R Gerald Grocott
Zurich, Switzerland
Source: Flight International