Runway ready: RAF Brize Norton airfield closed for planned maintenance period

RAF Brize Norton's airfield will be temporarily closed while essential resurfacing and improvement works are carried out. 

According to the Ministry of Defence, the planned programme is part of modernisation efforts designed to ensure full operational capability for decades to come. 

During the "essential" works, airfield operations and flights will move to several alternative UK locations from June, before returning in late November once resurfacing and improvement works on the airfield operating surface are complete.

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The Atlas and Globemaster fleets will operate primarily from MOD Boscombe Down and occasionally out of Bournemouth Airport. 

Meanwhile, the A330 Voyager fleet will operate from Prestwick, East Midlands, and Stansted airports.  

Building a more resilient and agile Air Force

Rather than concentrating its air mobility capability in one location, the RAF is actively developing the ability to operate from dispersed sites across the UK and overseas. 

Refined through Exercise Agile Warrior - a training activity that keeps the RAF ready to "fight tonight" in defence of the UK - this approach means the works at Brize Norton will not compromise its ability to respond to a crisis or conflict.

The RAF has said that the UK's military air mobility capability is not diminished by these works. 

Members of the public living near RAF Brize Norton or near dispersal locations may notice increased activity at some sites during this period. This is entirely planned and expected. 

The UK's largest air base 

RAF Brize Norton is Britain's primary military air mobility hub, and supports the movement of personnel, equipment and humanitarian supplies across the globe. 

Central to these operations are aircraft such as the Airbus A400M Atlas, a highly capable and versatile airlifter that serves as the backbone of tactical air mobility operations following the retirement of the C-130 Hercules fleet. 

The C-17 Globemaster – much larger than its winged compatriot – is just as vital, and can accommodate much heavier cargo, including the British Army's Challenger 2 battle tank, and even a Chinook helicopter. 

Recent RAF deployments of the C-17 saw the transport aircraft land in the Arctic, after joining a Canadian mission to deliver fuel and supplies to one of the most remote settlements on Earth.