Following the withdrawal of funding by UKRI-NERC, announced on Thursday 26 February 2026, the FAAM Airborne Laboratory will cease operations at the end of this financial year.
UKRI have been the custodians of UK airborne science and monitoring since 2014, but the closure marks the end of over 100 years of UK leadership in this field.
We will work closely with UKRI, NERC, our host institutions, delivery partners, facility users, and staff to decommission the research aircraft and manage the transition responsibly. Our immediate priority is supporting affected staff and the wider UK atmospheric science community.
Further updates will be provided as the closure process moves forward.
For enquiries about the funding decision please contact UKRI.
For media enquiries please contact press@ukri.org or comms@ncas.ac.uk.
For enquiries about the Mid-Life Upgrade Programme please contact mlu@faam.ac.uk.
For enquiries about FAAM Airborne Laboratory operations please contact faam@ncas.ac.uk.
FAQs
Why is the FAAM Airborne Laboratory closing?
The decision follows the withdrawal of funding by UKRI-NERC – announced on Thursday 26 February 2026. Without this funding, key contracts will end and continued operation is not feasible. The FAAM Airborne Laboratory will cease to operate at the end of this financial year. NCAS is now implementing a closure process aligned with funder requirements, contract obligations, and HR processes.
Who made the decision and when?
The closure decision was made by UKRI-NERC. The National Centre for Atmospheric Science was notified of this decision at 13.00 on Thursday 26 February 2026.
How many staff are affected?
University of Leeds HR is leading a consultation process with all affected colleagues. Numbers can only be confirmed once individual consultations and assessments conclude.
What support is available for affected staff?
Affected colleagues have access to:
- individual HR consultations
- redeployment opportunities where applicable
- wellbeing and mental health support
- union representation and advice for members
- career transition resources
What happens to planned science campaigns involving FAAM Airborne Laboratory?
NCAS is working closely with UKRI-NERC, our partners, and staff. Some activities will be wound down, and others may transition to alternative facilities or partners. Further details will be provided at each consultation and operational stage.
How long will the closure process take?
Timelines depend on:
- HR consultation
- Decommissioning of infrastructure and equipment
- Agreement with UKRI-NERC on transition plans
Indicative schedules will be shared as soon as they are confirmed.
Will this affect other NCAS sites, facilities, or research activities?
This decision relates specifically to this facility and its funding context. Other NCAS sites and national capability functions continue, and we remain in communication with UKRI-NERC about future funding and strategic planning.
Was this situation foreseen?
Funding for NCAS, including FAAM, is subject to periodic review. In this case, withdrawal of funding means continued operation of the FAAM Airborne Laboratory is no longer viable.
What does this mean for public money?
All NCAS and funder investments have supported nationally important atmospheric science and capability. We are committed to responsible stewardship of public funds, and that continues throughout the closure process. Where possible, we will ensure infrastructure, equipment, and data is redistributed, repurposed, or stored.
Will the FAAM Airborne Laboratory ever reopen or be replaced?
We cannot speculate on future funding decisions or proposals. Any long‑term capability planning sits with UKRI-NERC.
How will affected people and partner organisations be informed?
Staff and partners are being briefed directly. Public updates will be shared via NCAS channels.
Where can staff go with questions or concerns?
Please contact UKRI with questions about the funding decision, future capability, and decommissioning process: press@ukri.org
Other enquiries can go to:
John Eager, NCAS Operations Director.
Lisa Banton, NCAS Head of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Workforce Development
How much of the planned MLU work has already been carried out? Was this still on track to be completed in 2027?
The £49 million Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) programme was due for completion in 2027.
As part of the MLU, several new instruments had already been developed and deployed on successful science projects relating to marine pollution, aviation fuel emissions, local air quality, and climate change. The MLU acquired a spare engine, replacement landing gear, an additional science power converter to power all science equipment, as well as other critical and scarce items for the BAE 146-301. The flight management system and cabin environmental control system were upgraded, and the existing auxiliary fuel system removed. The MLU also helped to pay for an electric ground power unit, to support more sustainable operations. Procedures have been updated to improve efficiency and sustainability, and a range of new suppliers – from instrument developers to aircraft design organisations – have been contracted to support work now and into the future.
The aircraft had been grounded for 2026 so that major and hugely complex infrastructure modifications could be made. The modifications – which were planned, procured, and technically assessed – would have included: an auxiliary fuel system, redesigned core consoles, enlarged hardpoints and new inlets, wing wiring, a higher data bandwidth network, external cameras, a satellite communication system, upgraded meteorological instruments, and racking for instrument installation.
Modifications have limited the number of hours available for research flying during the MLU programme, but normal operations were planned to resume in 2027 following modifications and flight testing. The major infrastructure works were planned to minimise aircraft downtime, and therefore were compressed into the final 18 months of the programme.
To date, around £38 million of the budget for the MLU has been spent and regrettably much of this will no longer provide useful capabilities for the future.
How will the UKRI-NERC decision save “nearly £32 million over the spending review period, and avoid a further £5 million in costs?”
UKRI-NERC owns and funds the research aircraft. Details about the exact cost-saving should be directed to press@ukri.org.
UKRI: “To date the only other significant FAAM user has been the partnership with the Met Office, which ended in 2024”. Why did the partnership with the Met Office end, and what other partners has FAAM worked with?
The main purpose of the FAAM Airborne Laboratory is to deliver UKRI-funded research, in collaboration with UK universities and research organisations – therefore the vast majority, or significant proportion, of the FAAM Airborne Laboratory’s flying hours are for those users. The FAAM Airborne Laboratory has supported a range of users, such as the UK Met Office, European Space Agency, World Meteorological Organization, Rolls Royce, Civil Aviation Authority, and research scientists in 30 different countries.
Rather than the Met Office being a “user” of FAAM, it was actually a partner in the facility. The change happened in 2019 because the Met Office now focuses on its position as a world leader in weather and climate prediction, using state-of-the-art computer models. A continuous process of improvement of these models depends on a wide range of research, including that by FAAM. Indeed, since withdrawing as a partner, the Met Office has continued to make use of the aircraft. However, predominantly the Met Office is a user of the research carried out by the UKRI-supported science community. This separation of research and operations works well.
Questions about the Met Office’s use of the FAAM Airborne Laboratory can be directed to pressoffice@metoffice.gov.uk.
What projects are/were planned for FAAM after its return to flying operations?
6 science projects were confirmed for flying from 2027, as well as instrument and infrastructure testing, and flight crew training. At the time the closure was announced, there were 14 other applications being processed for 2027 and beyond. The proposed campaigns included weather and emissions measurement projects, instrument test and validation for international partners, and air quality studies among others.
The European Space Agency (ESA) was discussing a partnership agreement. This follows several recent FAAM Airborne Laboratory missions to validate ESA satellite technology. The UK will now lose its capability in this part of the space industry. FAAM’s recent Operations Committee determined that, following completion of the Mid Life Upgrade, the facility utilisation was predicted to be well above the long-term average, and comparable to other similar international aircraft facilities.
What are the implications of pivoting to “autonomous technology, land-based capabilities and remote sensing equipment” without the FAAM Airborne Laboratory?
As a global leader in atmospheric research and innovation, and provider of national capability in atmospheric science for UKRI-NERC, the National Centre for Atmospheric Science already uses autonomous technology, land-based capabilities, and remote sensing equipment – and will continue to adapt our research, and leverage the latest technologies, as new priorities emerge.
These technologies and capabilities were being used alongside, and in coordination with, the FAAM Airborne Laboratory – to offer scientists a joined up way of making measurements across different scales. An atmospheric research aircraft offers unique ways to observe the atmosphere and monitor our changing world, as well as a development platform for the next generation of atmospheric measurement technologies.
Unmanned aerial vehicles – UAVs – cannot currently replace the capabilities of the FAAM Airborne Laboratory, and there would need to be a very large investment over the next decade. NCAS was already working with the aviation industry on long term plans for retirement of the FAAM aircraft, in perhaps 10-15 years. However our industry colleagues emphasise that not only will this be impossible on a shorter timescale, but it will also require investment of many billions of pounds. It is worth also adding that by withdrawing funding for the FAAM Airborne Laboratory and ceasing its operations, UKRI and the wider technology and industry will also lose the ability to validate these autonomous technologies.
Ground-based observations do not provide the spatial and vertical scale offered by the FAAM Airborne Laboratory. Current regulatory stations and atmospheric observatories have limited spatial coverage, and do not have the advanced instrumentation that would have been provided by the MLU and the FAAM Airborne Laboratory.
Where does this leave the UK and wider European atmospheric science research community?
The closure of the FAAM Airborne Laboratory leaves the UK and wider European atmospheric science research community without a one-of-a-kind atmospheric research aircraft, and without a contingency asset for atmospheric-related emergencies. The closure means we are set to lose the capability to make critical airborne observations, such as the impacts of climate interventions, satellite validation, changing emissions around the world, and the conditions that lead to life-threatening weather.
For over 20 years, the FAAM Airborne Laboratory has created and sustained a community of experts and a dedicated team of project managers, flight crew, operations specialists, engineers and scientists. Without the FAAM Airborne Laboratory, the skills and experience of these highly specialised people will become dispersed and potentially lost.
The FAAM Airborne Laboratory offered users – scientific and commercial – a complete package of support and access to world-class measurement technology, with which to monitor climate change, measure air pollution, observe weather, test latest research instruments, and respond to atmospheric-related emergencies.
The FAAM Airborne Laboratory’s BAE 146-301 atmospheric research aircraft is capable of operating all over the world (with the exception of Antarctica), for up to 6 hours at a time, carrying 4 tonnes of instrumentation onboard, covering 2000 nautical miles in one flight, and reaching 11 kilometers high.
The FAAM Airborne Laboratory has carried out science campaigns for over 2 decades, in over 30 different countries across five continents, and supported over 120 UK and international science projects.
Data collected by FAAM has supported the Montreal Protocol, UK Government and CAA decisions around airspace management during volcanic eruptions, gas platform releases, and wildfires, policy decisions by the UN Climate and Clean Air Coalition, and weather and climate models developed by the Met Office and European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts.
In recent years, the research aircraft took to the skies to monitor aviation fuel emissions, monitor harmful air pollutants over central England, verify observations made by the EarthCARE satellite, improve summer storm predictions, detect changes in the North Atlantic marine environment, measure methane emissions from Scottish wetlands and oil-gas platforms, and detect how alpine environments affect weather forecasts. These are just some of the latest examples of the kinds of FAAM science flights.
How does this affect the UK Government’s ability to respond to atmospheric-related emergencies?
On several occasions over the past 20 years the FAAM Airborne Laboratory has provided monitoring and analysis during emergency situations, at the request of the UK Government and other partners. These include the Buncefield fire, the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull Icelandic volcano eruption, the 2011 Elgin platform gas leak, and Stalybridge wildfires in 2018.
Recently, the FAAM Airborne Laboratory was able to confirm within two days that the Solong/Stena Immaculate tanker collision in the North Sea was unlikely to create a wider atmospheric pollution incident. Some independent estimates of the impact of FAAM Airborne Laboratory emergency responses for the UK economy total over £4 billion since 2003.
In addition, the FAAM Airborne Laboratory plays a role in the regulation of pollution. This includes comprehensive assessments of the impact of changes to shipping regulation on pollution around the UK and on greenhouse gas emissions. Over many years, the FAAM Airborne Laboratory has supported OPRED (Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment & Decommissioning – currently part of DESNZ) in assessing its regulatory processes. The FAAM Airborne Laboratory has flown over 100 hours since 2015, deploying sophisticated chemical analysis to assess the effectiveness of pollution regulation in the North Sea.
The UK has no alternative means to perform this work, since it requires highly targeted deployment of sophisticated scientific payloads, coupled with expert scientific analysis.