Search and rescue helicopter annual statistics: year ending March 2021
Annual summary of civilian search and rescue helicopter operations in the UK, covering April 2020 to March 2021.
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Changes to these statistics
The department is reviewing the frequency of the search and rescue helicopter statistical series and is proposing to reduce it from two publications a year to one annual release in the summer. The next bi-annual statistics release for April to September 2021 will not be impacted by this review, and will still be released.
We welcome any feedback from users on the proposed new timings (including any negative impact of the reduced frequency) and presentation of the statistics.
Statistics on civilian search and rescue helicopter (SARH) activity in the United Kingdom, based on details of taskings recorded by the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC).
For the year ending March 2021:
- there were 2,208 civilian SARH taskings
- Prestwick base was the busiest of the 10 bases, responding to 350 taskings
- there were 1,226 people rescued and 232 people assisted across all taskings
There was a notable drop in taskings in April 2020 (64 taskings) compared to April 2019 (233 taskings). This captures the impact on SARH taskings of national lockdown in response to COVID-19.
There was an increase in taskings in August 2020 (365 taskings) compared to August 2019 (295 taskings). This was driven by an increase in beach-based taskings. This may be related to summer 2020 travel behaviour and preference for domestic holidays in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Notes and guidance
Notes, definitions and guidance about quality of these statistics is available.
Interactive dashboard
Explore the data via our interactive search and rescue helicopter statistics dashboard covering SARH taskings from April 2015 onwards.
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Search and rescue helicopter statistics