NPAS aircraft deployment up in December 2025
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) continues to provide vital aerial support to police forces across England and Wales, with its aircraft availability increasing in December 2025.
Image courtesy NPAS
In December 2025, NPAS aircraft were available for deployment 74.5% of the time, an improvement on November. Due to routine annual maintenance and engineering requirements necessary for an aviation fleet, it is not possible to achieve 100% availability.
Engineering downtime fell to 12.9%, reflecting a reduction in maintenance-related unavailability and supporting improved operational resilience.
Response times
NPAS crews continued to respond quickly to incidents where air support can make a difference:
- Priority 1 (urgent) incidents: Average response time was 11 minutes and 58 seconds
- Priority 2 incidents: Average response time was 17 minutes and 14 seconds
These times reflect the average from call received to arrival on scene.
Operational impact
In December, NPAS received 3,561 calls for service, an increase from November.
NPAS crews continued to deliver results: 88.3% of attended deployments led to a positive outcome.
Between April and December 2025, NPAS crews located:
- 951 vulnerable people
- 2,999 suspects
- 1,466 vehicles
Flying hours so far
Since the start of the financial year:
- Rotary aircraft have flown 7,263 hours
- Fixed wing aircraft have flown 619 hours, supporting 35 forces and completing 147 hours of patrols
These performance figures to December 2025 highlight NPAS’ key achievements and its ongoing operational resilience.
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