Official Statistics

The pattern of military low flying across the UK: 2019/2020

Published 24 June 2021

This annual bulletin provides statistics on military low flying training activity conducted in the UK Low Flying System (UKLFS) for the Financial Year (FY) 2019/2020 (i.e. 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020).
Further detailed statistics and comparisons with earlier years can be found in the supplementary tables

1. Main points and trends

In the FY 2019/2020

• There were 34,638 hours of military low flying within the UKLFS, an increase of 1.7% compared to 34,056 hours in the previous year.

• There were 34,587 hours of routine LF activity, of which 8,329 was fixed-wing activity, and 26,258 was rotary-wing.

• Overall routine LF activity increased by 1.9%; fixed wing activity decreased by 32.8% and rotary-wing activity increased by 21.9% compared to the previous year.

• Of the 34,638 hours of routine LF activity in FY 2019/2020, 74.5% was conducted during day light hours.

• Routine day LF activity increased by 2.0% compared to the previous year, fixed wing activity decreased by 28.1% and rotary wing increased by 20.4%.

• Routine LF activity at night, 8,814 hours in FY 2019/2020, increased by 1.6% compared to the previous year. Fixed wing activity at night decreased by 48.4% and night rotary wing activity increased by 25.9%.

• Operational low flying accounted for 51 hours in FY 2019/2020, 0.1% of all LF activity.

• The Ministry of Defence’s Low Flying Complaints and Enquiries Unit (LFCEU) received 619 complaints in FY 2019/2020, a decrease of 13.2% compared to the previous year.

Responsible Statistician: Head of Defence Statistics Air: Analysis-Air@mod.gov.uk

Further information or mailing list: Analysis-Publications@mod.gov.uk

Background Quality Report: Background Quality Report

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Please refer to the supplementary tables containing all data presented in this publication.

2. Introduction

Military fixed wing aircraft are assessed to be low flying when operating below 2,000 feet Above Ground Level (AGL); helicopters and light propeller-driven aircraft are assessed to be low flying when below 500 feet AGL. Due to their role, helicopters may operate down to ground level for specific training activities.

The Day UKLFS consists of 19 Low Flying Areas (LFA), 3 Tactical Training Areas (TTA) and the Thames Valley Avoidance Area (TVAA).

The Night UKLFS differs from that used by day and comprises 13 Night Rotary Regions (NRR) which are located in the south of the country and predominantly used by rotary wing aircraft, 5 Allocated Regions (AR), which are mostly located in the north of the country and predominantly used by fixed-wing aircraft, and the Thames Valley Avoidance Area (Night) (TVAA(N).

This report aims to provide interested parties with the usage of the UKLFS in total and the volume of low flying within the day and night low flying areas.

Further information on military low flying

Statistics on military low flying for previous calendar years

There is a continuing requirement for UK Armed Forces to operate successfully in the low-level environment. These skills are used not only in Defence of our Nation, but also to assist with peacekeeping and humanitarian support across the globe, and to provide assistance here in the UK to the civil authorities on request at times of need.

Responsiveness alone is not enough; it must be backed by a credible and practised military capability and it is on this foundation of military readiness that the need to train regularly is built. Low flying skills are perishable, and can only be perfected and maintained through rigorous practice in a realistic environment.

Military aircrew train at low level within a clear regulatory framework that sets out the activities they are authorised to conduct, and what limitations are placed on those activities. The safety of the public, aircrew and aircraft remains of paramount concern. Regulations are designed to ensure that training is appropriate for the operational task and is conducted so that risks to life are mitigated to a level that is as low as is reasonably practicable, and to minimise disturbance to the public. Military low flying regulations

Foreign military forces, including the UK-based United States Air Force Europe units, may fly within the UKLFS under the principle of reciprocity, and must comply with the same regulatory framework as UK aircraft.

All flying activity within the UKLFS must be specifically authorised, and the vast majority booked in advance, to avoid conflict with other aircraft. Flying units are required to subsequently provide booking returns with the actual times and low flying areas used. Detailed information on actual routes flown is not provided.

Further information can be found in the Background Quality Report.

3. Total low flying in the UKLFS

The combination of both routine and operational low flying hours is 34,638 hours of low flying within the UK Low Flying System for the FY 2019/2020, an increase of 1.7% compared to the previous year.

Operational Low Flying is a specific type of activity that only takes place in the three TTA, where fixed-wing aircraft can operate between 250 feet MSD and 100 feet MSD.

3.1 Table 1: Total Low Flying

Year	Routine Low Flying (hours)	Operational Low Flying (hours)	Total Hours
2016-2017	29,554	166	29,720
2017-2018	29,024	126	29,150
2018-2019	33,931	125	34,056
2019-2020	34,587	51	34,638

3.2 Table 2 Routine Low Flying

Year	Fixed Wing (hours)	Rotary Wing (hours)	Total Hours
2016-2017	9 054	20,500	29,554
2017-2018	6,798	22,227	29,024
2018-2019	12,390	21,541	33,931
2019-2020	8,329	26,258	34,587

In FY 2019/2020 fixed-wing activity accounted for 24.1% and rotary-wing 75.9% of the 34,587 hours of routine LF activity.

Total routine LF activity rose by 1.9%, fixed-wing activity decreased by 32.8% from the previous year. The decrease in fixed wing flying at low level is due in part to the drawdown of the Tornado fleet, which conducted a significant amount of training at low level in UK airspace.

Rotary-wing activity increased by 21.9% compared to the previous year. This is due to increased availability of training and frontline aircraft types, including the Juno and Jupiter aircraft which have now been brought fully into service, which has allowed more essential routine training to take place. There has also been a small increase in pre-deployment training.

4. Day Low Flying

Of the routine LF activity in 2019/2020 (excluding Operational Low Flying), 74.5% was conducted during daylight hours.The amount of routine day time low flying activity conducted in the FY 2019/2020 is shown in the table below.

4.1 Table 3 Day Low Flying

Year	Fixed Wing (hours)	Rotary Wing (hours)	Total Hours
2016-2017	7,190	15,074	22,264
2017-2018	6,228	17,045	23,272
2018-2019	9,552	15,705	25,258
2019-2020	6,865	18,908	25,773

In FY 2019/2020, fixed wing activity accounted for 26.6% and rotary-wing for 73.4% of day time low flying hours.

Routine day LF activity increased by 2.0% compared to the previous year, fixed wing activity decreased by 28.1% and rotary wing increased by 20.4%.

5. Night low flying

Of the routine LF activity in 2019/2020 (excluding Operational Low Flying), 25.5% was conducted during night time hours.The amount of routine night time low flying activity conducted in the FY 2019/2020 is shown in the table below.

5.1 Table 4 Night Low Flying

Year	Fixed Wing (hours)	Rotary Wing (hours)	Total Hours
2016-2017	1,864	5,426	7,290
2017-2018	570	5,182	5,752
2018-2019	2,837	5,836	8,674
2019-2020	1,464	7,350	8,814

In FY 2019/2020, fixed-wing activity accounted for 16.6% and rotary-wing 83.4% of night time low flying activity. Routine LF activity at night increased by 1.6% compared to the previous year; fixed-wing activity at night decreased by 48.4%; rotary-wing activity at night increased by 25.9%.

6. Operational Low Flying

The amount of Operational Low Flying (OLF) training activity conducted in the FY 2019/2020 is shown in the table below. OLF training accounted for 0.1% of all LF activity, reflecting a decrease of 59.1% from the previous year. As is the case for routine low flying, the drawdown of the Tornado fleet has also led to a decrease in OLF.

6.1 Table 5 Operational Low Flying

Year	LFA 7(T) Wales (hours)	LFA 14(T) Scotland (hours)	LFA 20(T) Borders (hours)	Total Hours
2016-2017	4	65	98	166
2017-2018	4	31	91	126
2018-2019	7	45	73	125
2019-2020	0	17	34	51

The timetable of planned OLF training is published on GOV.UK website

7. TVAA (Thames Valley Avoidance Area)

The Thames Valley Avoidance Area covers the Greater London area, where restrictions are imposed on military flying due to the population density and aerial congestion. The amount of day and night low flying conducted in the TVAA in the FY 2019/2020 is given in the table below, and accounts for 1.7% of all LF activity during this period.

7.1 Table 6 TVAA Low Flying

Year	Fixed Wing (hours)	Rotary Wing (hours)	Total Hours
2016-2017	66	428	494
2017-2018	22	557	579
2018-2019	90	636	726
2019-2020	26	568	593

Further statistics for day and night low flying activity can be found in the supplementary tables

8. Low Flying Activity by Area

The charts below show the hours flown, day and night, ranked by LFA for FY 2019/2020 compared to previous years.

The intensity of low flying activity varies by area, LFAs 1 and 2 rank higher than other day areas, and NRR1 and NRR2 greater than other night areas. This reflects the geographical location of air bases and types of aircraft. Rotary wing aircraft by their nature (speed, range etc) are less likely to go ‘further afield’ and more likely to conduct sorties in the local area, due to the availability of airspace and fuel options. It should be noted that the figures for activity in the Dedicated User Areas (DUA) for FY 2019/2020 now comprise a combined total of manual returns plus automated figures, and consequently they are not directly comparable with previous years. It should also be noted that, as for FY 2018/2019, due to staffing shortages manual returns were not available for DUA LFA9, consequently the data for both financial years is not as accurate as that previously published.

8.1 Figure 1 Day Chart

8.2 Figure 2 Night Chart

9. Complaints

The Ministry of Defence Low Flying Complaints and Enquiries Unit (LFCEU) received 619 complaints in FY 2019/2020, a decrease of 13.2 percent from the previous year.
2 complaints related to activity in the three TTA.
It should be noted that this total includes only those complaints recorded centrally by the LFCEU.

9.1 Table 7 Complaints

Year	Number of Complaints	Flying Hours per Complaint
2016-2017	1,291	23
2017-2018	1,307	22
2018-2019	713	48
2019-2020	619	56

The number of complaints and flying hours per complaint for each LFA can be found in the supplementary tables

10. Low Flying Compensation Payments

The total compensation amount paid by the MOD relating to military low flying in FY 2019/2020 is recorded in the table below.

10.1 Table 8 Compensation

Year	Amount of Compensation Paid (£)(rounded)
2016-2017	473K
2017-2018	440K
2018-2019	226K
2019-2020	289K

These totals include damages and other costs, such as claimants’ legal costs. They do not include MOD costs. It should be noted that expenditure may include interim payments for active claims as well as final payments for settled claims, and payment may be made for claims arising from military aircraft activity in previous financial years.

10.2 Figure 3 Map of Day Low Flying Areas

10.3 Figure 4 Map of Night Low Flying Areas

11. Glossary

AGL	Above Ground Level
AR	Allocated Region. An area in the Night UK Low Flying System used mainly by fast jets and transport aircraft.
Air Traffic Zones	Where aircraft are/can be provided with an Air Traffic Control Service.
CADS	Centralised Aviation Data Service. Bookings into the UKLFS are made onto this system, which is the source for low flying statistics.
Danger Areas	A danger area is an airspace of defined dimensions within which activities dangerous to the flight of aircraft may exist as specified times, such as the Salisbury Plain Training Area.
Day time hours	See night time hours
FOI	Freedom of Information.
FY	Financial Year. The MOD financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March.
LF	Low Flying
LFA	Low Flying Area
LFCEU	Low Flying Complaints and Enquiries Unit. Based at RAF Wittering, the LFCEU responds to complaints from members of the public.
MAMC	Military Airspace Management Cell. Administers low flying bookings and extracts statistical data from CADS. Responsible for day to day management of the UKLFS.
MATZ	Military Air Traffic Zone, usually extends around the airspace above a flying unit.
MSD	Minimum Separation Distance i.e the distance that must be maintained between any part of an aircraft in flight and the ground, water or any object. Does not apply to the separation between aircraft in formation.
NRR	Night Rotary Region. An area in the Night UKLFS used mainly by helicopters.
Night time hours	Night low flying commences from sunset plus 30 minutes at N5400 E or W00000 on the 15th of each month. Night flying ends at sunrise minus 30 minutes at the same position and date.
OLF	Operational Low Flying i.e. where aircraft can fly between 250 feet and 100 feet MSD. This takes place in the three TTAs when that are activated.
Restricted Areas	These include National prohibited and restricted sites, military prohibited and restricted sites and Provost Marshal prohibited and restricted areas e.g. nuclear power stations.
TTA	Tactical Training Area. OLF can only take place in these areas when they are activated.
UKLFS	UK Low Flying System. Covers the open airspace of the whole of the UK from the surface to 2 000 feet above ground or mean sea level.

12. Further Information

12.1 Rounding

Where rounding has been used, totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not equal the sum of their rounded parts.

12.2 Revisions

Corrections to the published statistics will be made if errors are found, or if figures change because of improvements to methodology or changes to definitions. When making corrections, we will follow the Ministry of Defence Statistics, revisions and corrections policy.

All corrected figures will be identified by the symbol “r”, and an explanation will be given of the reason for and size of the revision. Corrections which would have a significant impact on the utility of the statistics will be corrected as soon as possible, by reissuing the publication. Minor errors will also be corrected, but for convenience these corrections may be timed to coincide with the next release of the publication.

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