Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements Aircraft Ceases Operations | Aviation International News

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Sustainability and Environment

UK’s FAAM Research Aircraft Formally Ceases Operations

Environmental research program had already used three quarters of previously agreed funding

FAAM BAe146 parked on the ground — Built in 1981, FAAM’s BAe 146-301 (now registered as G-LUXE) was the first BAe 146 to fly. Thanks to ongoing upgrades, its most recent operators had reasonably expected it could also have been the last airworthy example of its type. After being withdrawn

By Charlotte Bailey • News Reporter

May 8, 2026

The UK’s Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) Airborne Laboratory—a specially modified BAe 146 aircraft—has officially come to the end of its scientific research service. This follows a sudden announcement in February that its financial support, provided by the National Environment Research Council (NERC) via the UK public body UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), was to be withdrawn.

NERC told AIN that around £38 million ($51 million) of a £49 million mid-life upgrade (MLU) —due to be completed in 2027—had already been spent. NERC believes that, “regrettably, much of this [investment] will no longer provide useful capabilities for the future.” The MLU had aimed to keep the unique facility operational until at least 2040.

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