Ministry of Civil Aviation Constabulary

Airport policing in the United Kingdom has taken many forms since the rise of scheduled airline services in the post-war period. Policing at major civilian airports was the responsibility of specialist constabularies operated by three central government departments until 1974, when the rise in international terrorism saw armed police from territorial police forces deployed to major airports under the provisions of the Policing of Airports Act. As more minor airports grew in size, they too switched to armed police provided by local police forces. However, the funding agreements for the provision of such services varied wildly from airport to airport, leading to disagreements between airport operators and Chief Constables. A new regime, the Airport Security Planning Framework, came into force in January 2010, and brought airport operators, airlines and police forces together to develop joint security and policing plans for all passenger airports.

Civilian airports in the United Kingdom were originally under the control of the Air Ministry, which was mainly concerned with the operation of the Royal Air Force, but was also responsible for non-military aviation. During this time, airfields and aerodromes were policed by the Air Ministry Constabulary, who were sworn in as special constables under section 3 of the Special Constables Act 1923. In 1946, F. J. May OBE was appointed as the first Chief Constable, and Squadron Leader D. F. Grierson MBE was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable.

After World War II, the rise in civil aviation saw the creation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 1946, and Heathrow airport was brought under the Ministry's control that year. The Ministry of Civil Aviation Constabulary was formed in 1948, and its first Chief Constable (appointed that year) was Sir John Bennett, a former Inspector-General of Police for the province of Punjab, India. Bennett died in June 1949, and was replaced by W. Ronnie who had been Deputy Chief Constable under Bennett, prior to which he was the Chief Constable of Breconshire Constabulary, and a member of Buckinghamshire Constabulary from 1927 to 1947. Members of the Civil Aviation Constabulary were sworn in as special constables under section 37 of the Civil Aviation Act 1949.

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