Do pilots with their own plane need permission to land at airports? If so how do they get it?

Question

Do pilots with their own plane need permission to land at airports? If so how do they get it?

Answer 1

Yes. They radio ahead to the airport traffic controller who'll let them know where and when to land (this is important to avoid mid-air collisions).

Answer 2

Permission is required right up to the point where a pilot has an emergency, calls "Mayday", and announces where they're coming down.

Otherwise - they radio air traffic control on the frequency designated on the appropriate chart, coordinate to get a spot in the landing pattern, and then follow instructions as to which runway to land on.  A pilot with their own plane will use the civil aviation terminal; there may or may not be a 'short strip' available for small planes.

Answer 3

All pilots have to prepare a flight plan for each trip.

Part of the plan is where to land (except in an emergency)

They normally talk to local air traffic control and will be instructed to switch over to the airport by them.