A new report from the defence think tank RUSI has warned that more than 500 regional airports, airfields and helipads across Britain are being exploited by criminals to smuggle drugs, cash, weapons and people into the country. Around one in five of these sites accept unscheduled flights from abroad that bypass the stringent customs checks applied at major commercial airports, creating what the report calls a "border security blind spot" that criminals are increasingly using to move illicit goods and migrants undetected.

The report's author, Cathy Haenlein, cited cases including 500kg of cocaine found on a private jet at Farnborough Airport, £12 million of heroin and cocaine hidden in a helicopter travelling via Kent and Surrey, and an attempt to smuggle four migrants into Deenethorpe Airfield in Northamptonshire. She noted that 77,316 general aviation flights arrived in the UK from abroad in 2025 alone, making thorough inspection of every flight financially and operationally unfeasible, while short journey times of under an hour often leave officials with little chance to assess intelligence before landing. The report recommends mandatory transponders on all aircraft, a stronger role for Europol in intelligence-sharing, and new multi-agency structures to counter criminals increasingly using drones. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised the government's handling of the issue, accusing Labour of lacking the will to tackle the problem.