---
title: "Halley Research Station Air Movements"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07898f"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07898f"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07898f.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07898f.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION"
published: "2026-10-16"
---

# Halley Research Station Air Movements

Buyer: UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07898f

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## Summary

UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) appointed a supplier to provide air transport services for the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley Research Station during the 2026/2027 season. The work concerns air movements supporting operations at the research station in Antarctica. The requirement is for a specialist service in a remote and demanding polar environment, rather than general passenger or freight aviation. The buying organisation is UKRI, acting for the British Antarctic Survey. The procurement is categorised as services, with air transport as the specified activity. The destination is Antarctica; the information identifies Halley Research Station but does not give a more precise delivery location or describe the flights, cargo, aircraft or operating schedule in further detail.

The procurement is complete and the award was made to WHITE DESERT LTD. UKRI used a direct award, citing the absence of competition for technical reasons. The published award value is £1,197,511.32. The award date was 15 October 2026. The contract period runs from 2 November 2026 to 22 March 2027, with a planned signature date of 29 October 2026. The procurement was arranged as one lot, covering the Halley Research Station air-movements requirement. The award is recorded as pending, and the data gives no evaluation criteria beyond the stated technical-reasons basis for selecting a single supplier.

For suppliers considering comparable future requirements from UKRI and the British Antarctic Survey, this award demonstrates demand for specialist air transport serving a remote Antarctic research station, on a seasonal basis. A credible competitor would need to show that it can safely and reliably deliver air movements in the Antarctic operating environment and meet the research station’s operational needs. The direct award rationale indicates that technical considerations were decisive and that the buyer considered competition absent for those reasons; relevant operational capability and evidence of suitability for this specific environment would therefore be central to competing credibly. The selected supplier is a small enterprise, showing that the work was awarded to an SME, though the available information does not identify specific aircraft, accreditations, staffing levels or technical standards.

## Notice

UKRI is seeking to appoint a supplier for the provision of Halley Research Station Air Movements to the British Antarctic Survey for Season 2026/2027.

### Procurement Information

Competition absent for technical reasoning.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098085-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 16 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Contract period | 2 Nov 2026 - 22 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £1,197,511 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Pending |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION |
| Locality | SWINDON, WILTSHIRE |
| Postcode area | Swindon |
| Postcode | SN2 1FL |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire |
| ITL 3 | TLK71 Swindon |
| Local authority | Swindon |
| Electoral ward | Rodbourne Cheney |
| Westminster constituency | Swindon North |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | White Desert Ltd |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 60400000 - Air transport services

## Release History

- 16 Oct 2026 at 15:28 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098085-2026
- 16 Oct 2026 at 13:42 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097968-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098085-2026
  16th October 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097968-2026
  16th October 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.ukri.org/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07898f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07898f.json.