HQ Air Command RAF HP14 4UE United Kingdom

E-mail: Air-DResSec- Ref: 11-02-2014-143342-006 [email protected]

Mr David Gurtler

E-mail address: request-196920- 24 February 2014 [email protected]

Dear Mr Gurtler

Thank you for your email of 11 February requesting the following information about the number of civilian aircraft movements that took place at RAF Northolt in 2013:

1. The total number of civilian aircraft movements for the year. 2. The total number of military aircraft movements for the year. 3. The total number of 'exempt' civilian movements for the year (notably those carrying royalty, heads of state, or other dignitaries) 4. The number of civilian aircraft movements for each month and the percentage increase that number was compared to the corresponding month in 2012.

I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). A search for the information has been completed and I can confirm that the information requested is held by the MOD

The total number of civilian aircraft movements for 2013 was 10,843. This figure includes commercial, Air Ambulance (LAA), Police, Government, and military chartered civilian flights.

The total number of military aircraft movements for 2013 was 4,127. This figure includes RAF, Army, RN and other military movements.

The total number of non-commercial civilian movements for 2013 was 952 (this figure is included within the 10,843 total civilian movements figure). This figure includes for example, LAA, Police, flight checkers, Government and military chartered aircraft.

The total number of all civilian aircraft movements for each month and the percentage increase that number was compared to the corresponding month in 2012 is shown in the table below.

MONTH 2012 2013 % INCREASE January 532 698 31 February 447 716 60 March 588 776 32 April 529 779 47 May 755 1093 45 June 967 1056 9 July 535 1083 102 August 293 781 167 September 795 1021 28 October 769 1134 47 November 750 984 31 December 471 722 53 TOTAL 7431 10843 46

You should be aware 2012 was not a typical year due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games which impacted on Northolt’s commercial operations. Particularly in July and August, commercial aircraft movements were at different times, restricted or halted completely.

If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance. If informal resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance team, 1st Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail [email protected]). Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an end.

If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate your case until the MOD internal review process has been completed. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website, http://www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Air-DRes Secretariat HQ Air Command