London Helicopter Guide
Police helicopters in London

Who flies in London

Police helicopters over London

NPAS provides air support to police forces in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan Police; requests go through a national operations centre and the closest free aircraft is tasked.

Hero image: Photo: Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

NPAS provides air support to police forces in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan Police; requests go through a national operations centre and the closest free aircraft is tasked.

The aircraft

Airbus H135 (formerly EC135) and H145 (EC145). NPAS fleet stated by ADS in Oct 2021 as 19 helicopters and four aeroplanes; the Lippitts Hill base is stated to use four EC145s.

Where they fly from

London is served from the NPAS base at Lippitts Hill, Epping Forest, Essex (re-established 2021 at the Met's request, 24/7 crews); Redhill (Surrey), North Weald and Benson also serve the South East. Which aircraft is on duty at a given time: not stated.

Airbus H145 helicopter over Haringey, north London
Airbus H145 helicopter over Haringey, north LondonPhoto: Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Exemptions

The CAA treats police, air ambulance (HEMS), search and rescue and military flights as exempt public-safety users in its London data, and says NPAS and HEMS multi-engine helicopters may fly lower or hold over specific locations. See how low helicopters may fly.

Sourced facts

NPAS delivers air support to police forces across England and Wales and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Source
NPAS re-established a helicopter base at Lippitts Hill, Epping Forest, Essex, to support policing of London, at the Metropolitan Police Service's request (article dated 5 Oct 2021). Source
The Lippitts Hill base has four EC145 helicopters and a 34-person team (pilots, Tactical Flight Officers, base managers), crewed 24/7. Source
The reopening brought NPAS to 15 bases; fleet then 19 helicopters and four aeroplanes (figure as at Oct 2021). Source
The NPAS site lists 'How air support is deployed' and a 2025/26 annual report; detailed task statistics were not retrievable in this pass. Source

Pictures

Metropolitan Police EC145 G-MPSA operated by Specialist Aviation Services/McAlpine
Metropolitan Police EC145 G-MPSA operated by Specialist Aviation Services/McAlpinePhoto: Laurent ERRERA from L'Union, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Metropolitan Police EC145 G-MPSA at Heathrow
Metropolitan Police EC145 G-MPSA at HeathrowPhoto: Simon Boddy from Maidenhead, Uk, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources and checks

Facts on this page come from these sources, last checked 2026-11-03. Where a source could not be reached or did not say, we left the fact out.

  1. npas.police.uk npas.police.uk
  2. adsgroup.org.uk adsgroup.org.uk
  3. npas.police.uk npas.police.uk