Helicopters: Greater London

(asked on 22nd June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to reduce the noise made by police and ambulance helicopters circling over London during the weekends.


Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford Portrait
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 8th July 2020

The decision of when to deploy helicopters over London is an operational matter for the police and the London Air Ambulance.

The London Air Ambulance only operates during daylight hours due to operational reasons and this reduces noise during night time hours.

The National Police Air Service (NPAS) provides aircraft, including helicopters, and in London, NPAS responds to requests for support predominately from the Metropolitan Police Service but also British Transport Police and the City of London Police.

NPAS deploys helicopters after completing a threat, harm and risk assessment; and only deploy them when necessary. In 2019 a total of 3727 calls for service were delivered to the Metropolitan Police Service or City of London Police, an average of 10 per day.

The existing fleet of aircraft are compliant with regulation [International Civil Aviation Authority, Chapter 8 noise, Chapter 8 and Annex 16] and are amongst the quietest within their category.

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